Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Ever-lasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
In fourth grade I learned to play chess. Since chess is such an intricate game, it would be fair to say I am still learning to play chess! These days, I mostly play online against people from all over the world. I have steadily improved but I still lose a lot of games. The thing with chess is, when playing against a good opponent, I have been in games where it was clear that I was going to lose. Checkmate was inevitable. Sometimes, out of frustration with myself, I resign the game. Other times, I will keep playing on. Knowing I am going to lose. With no hope of winning. I’m just making more moves.
When we read verses like today’s, we could be skeptical. An increase of peace? Where? Justice? Where? When Jesus came to earth, He came as a baby in a manger. A double humiliation for Him. He lived as a man without pretense, a carpenter. He began His ministry and taught about the Kingdom of God. He invited all who would, to follow Him. Then He died. Willingly. He sacrificed Himself for us. Only God can forgive sin and only a man could pay the just penalty for sin. So Jesus became the God-Man. He died and rose again making our salvation possible!
We can look at the news and see plenty of bad things in the world. We see death, destruction, etc. If we focus on that, we could be convinced that Satan is winning. But be assured: the game is over! Checkmate is inevitable! Jesus has won! Satan is too proud to resign so he keeps making moves. But he is finished! We can know Him who is Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father! We can have a personal relationship with the ultimate Winner!
For now we live in the anticipation of His visible victory. The thing is, for someone who doesn’t really know chess well, they could see a game like I described and not be aware of the obvious victory that is there before them. They are ignorant, in the truest sense of the word, that the game (though moves are still being made) is over. That they can’t see the victory does not negate the truth of that sure victory!
Blessings,
Pastor Russ
