Trump, Zelenskyy, and the Kingdom of God by John Avant

The meeting between President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week was one of the most unusual political spectacles we have seen in a long time.

I have very strong feelings about Russia and Ukraine.

And I am not going to tell you what they are!

Here is the reason why:

First of all, although I believe these issues are of great importance, I do not believe they are even close to the most important issue. Jesus said,

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The King and His Kingdom matter most. Far more than any president or nation.

These days I truly wonder if most Christians believe that anymore.

Have you noticed that suddenly everyone seems to be an expert on Ukraine, Russia, and political and warfare strategy? No one wants to be left out of the discussion. We often feel like we have to raise our voice or be irrelevant. And in doing so we are often nothing more than arrogant.

There are many people who are called into the political arena. Or the military arena. We need godly people to answer that call! If you haven’t noticed, there is a shortage these days of those who are in political office who you would also want to teach a Sunday school class in your church!

I am thankful for people in the political arena who I have pastored in the past and some who I still support.  

Yet, I am not among them.  I do not live in this arena.  I do not spend my days analyzing Putin or Zelenskyy or all the complex dynamics of a far away war.

But I do seek to spend my days with my eyes focused like a laser on my King. I am determined to know what He is doing, how He is doing it, where He is going, and how I can join Him!

And if He has told me the truth, when I do that, I am a part of the advance of an eternal kingdom that will be doing very well long after every earthly war is a distant memory.

He even promised to take care of everything else in my life at the same time! But only if I focus on His kingdom first.

So ask yourself this question:

If someone heard all your conversations today, read all your social media posts, and was even able to climb inside your heart and see your most consuming thoughts and topics today, would they conclude that you are seeking King Jesus first or something else? Would they conclude that you believe that only Jesus has the ultimate answers or that politicians can sort it all out if they just do things better?

I’m not trying to be overly controversial, stir things up or make anyone angry. But I have lived long enough to see what God can do when he moves powerfully and people actually believe that His kingdom matters most. This is how I intend to spend the bulk of my time in life.

If you want to know what I think about the Ukrainian war, I’ll be glad to talk to you about it. I won’t write publicly about it, but we could have a nice conversation. But only for a little while. And then I want to tell you of the miraculous and awesome wonders that I am seeing The King do in our day. And I want to hear your stories too! I hope I can have those conversations with many of you very soon.