Does God have dominion over the world? by Ruth Achilla

The first couple of times I read the question, I was stumped. I mean, how am I supposed to respond to that? I am a Christian and I believe in God and all so the right answer is certainly. Then, I thought about it and tried to figure why I was so sure.
The philosophers certainly thought He did. Irenaeus quotes Paul’s letter to the Romans which basically states that people should be subject to those in authority because they are ordained of God who is pretty much the last point of call in the power hierarchy – the supreme who everyone has to answer too ultimately.

Something else that Irenaeus said caught my attention. I mean it’s all very well that God put a bunch of people in authority over the rest of us. That has been said over and over but the idea that He put the devil under the power of men I feel is profound. The truth is, not only does God have dominion over the world; He has no qualms sharing this sovereign power with men. Talk about a God who is not threatened! The way God exercises His power and authority is a far cry from most of the leaders that I have seen around. There is always the lingering fear of being usurped and so instead of sharing their authority as God does, they often hoard their power and everybody suffers as a result their insecurity.

I think that God’s dominion is evident in the fact that He is just. He cannot stand sin and that causes a rift between Him and man. At the same time though, He is aware of our weakness and because of this, He sends His son to bear all our sin and unrighteousness upon himself. He does this because He is a fair judge. I think in every judgment, the ‘accused’ should have had a choice. By sending Christ, God gives the world the choice for good and for life. In the end, judgment has to be passed because the one who effects the sentence has to see it carried out. As Augustine of Hippos says, “remove justice and what are Kingdoms but gangs of criminals on a large scale?” Judgment, I think, is His way of saying, “I am keeping tabs on the lot of you, so be good.”

In the end of course, like the children that we are, not everyone listens and He has to punish the disobedient. This is the responsibility that comes with His authority over the world.

Then at the same time I think, He has all this power, right? He is the one who put our leaders in place and so on. If He really does control everything, He kind of is making a mess of running things. The political scene right now is going to the dogs and our belief systems are warped. Very few people seem to be living as He intended at all but He still lets that happen even when everything seems to go from bad to worse.

The truth is, so many things about the way God runs things are impossible for me to understand. Often times I find myself comparing the way God runs things to the way a ‘good’ leader would. When you really think about it, there is no way you can draw comparisons. God’s ways are a labyrinth of complexities that the human mind cannot even begin to conceive.
I was listening earlier today to a song by Cece Winans and the lyrics kind of stood out to me. She sung;

I am the I am, I am all that you need
I can Yes, I can and no it ain’t too hard for me.
Do you know do you really believe?
Every day, every night of your life… I am.

So I thought; we could throw arguments back and forth all day and spend endless hours deliberating over all the things that are representations of His dominion but in the end, it’s His air we breathe. You really cannot do better than that!