Sovereign Submission
Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. – Daniel 7:27 (NIV)
Submission is not well received in most social circles these days. Our impetus is upon being unyieldingly assertive and self-determinative. The insistence upon rigid individualism ushers in division.
In the midst of all of our deep divides and bitter antagonisms, the prophet Daniel gives us an arresting vision of international cooperation founded upon a significant international submission. It is a vision of all nations and kingdoms submitting their sovereignty to the Holiness of God personified in the people of God.
Beyond mere wishful thinking, this vision is an urgent call for each nation to recognize how its survival is interdependent with other nations. Back in the 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. warned America that the bombs we dropped in Viet Nam would explode in our own backyards … explode in increased poverty … explode in increased national malaise … explode in increased loss of economic development.
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools,” said Dr. King.
A vision in which the independent sovereign greatness of each nation voluntarily surrenders and submits to the greater good of all God’s people is the only vision that can save us from the partisanship that has us drowning in political deadlock. A recognition that each sovereign nation must submit itself to the supreme sovereignty of global peace and international justice is the only recognition that can save the planet and the people on it.
Daniel’s vision is ignored at our own peril.
Prayer
God show us what should supplant and supersede our independent agendas. Help us to see our survival in our mutual submission. Amen.
About the AuthorKenneth L. Samuel is Pastor of Victory for the World Church, Stone Mountain, Georgia.