We were taught that obedience to government
meant obedience to God.

But Scripture never said that.

It said,
“We ought to obey God rather than men.”

The word government
does not mean domination.
It does not mean coercion.
It does not mean blind submission.

Government means rule.
Authority.
Order.

And Jesus did not come
to reinforce existing systems.
He came to disrupt them.

Not with violence.
With truth.

He broke Sabbath rules.
He healed when it was illegal.
He touched the unclean.
He forgave without permission.

He did not obey systems
that contradicted love.

When people quote,
“Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s,”
they forget the context.

Caesar’s image was on the coin.
God’s image is on humanity.

Give systems their coins.
Give God the people.

The disciples understood this.

Scripture says
they turned the world upside down.

That is not the description
of compliant citizens.

That is the description
of people who lived
from a higher allegiance.

And that is why they were persecuted.
That is why they were imprisoned.
That is why they were killed.

The same reason Jesus was killed.

Systems do not crucify those
who protect them.
They crucify those
who expose them.

A gospel received from tradition
is not the gospel.

A gospel received from a book alone
is not the gospel.

The gospel is received from above.

And the gospel is not an ultimatum.
It is not coercion.
It is not fear.

The gospel is a proclamation.

That love reigns.
That love governs.
That love is the law.

If what you call love
can torture,
discard,
or dehumanize,
then it is not love.

And if your faith allows you
to joke about death,
dismiss suffering,
or decide human worth
based on tribe,
party,
or agreement,
then your heart has not been shaped by Spirit.

You have learned doctrine,
but not compassion.

You have learned arguments,
but not communion.

There are many with opinions
who have never governed
their own emotions.

Many with theology
who have never borne
another person’s burden.

Scripture is clear.

“Bear one another’s burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

There is a law.
And it is not fear.
It is not violence.
It is not domination.

It is love.

Love does not numb itself to suffering.
Love does not outsource conscience.
Love does not trade humanity for ideology.

Following Christ
will eventually put you at odds
with systems that profit from division.

Not because you seek rebellion,
but because love cannot comply
with harm.

The question is not
whether you obey authority.

The question is
whose authority you obey.

Because the kingdom of God
has always been governed
from within.


Not every law carries life.
Not every order carries wisdom.
The heart aligned with love
discerns what to resist
and what to restore.
Where love governs,
fear loses its power.
And truth walks free.

The kingdoms of this world are truly evil.

Christ’s kingdom does not rise and fall with headlines, elections, markets, or moods. It is unshakable. The hope of the Christian is not that darkness will suddenly behave better. Our hope is that light has already won.

Evil does not get the last word. Death does not get the last word. Suffering does not get the last word.

Christ reigns. Right now. Not someday. Not symbolically. He reigns as King over a kingdom that cannot be corrupted, voted out, canceled, or burned down.

This world is sick, yes. But it is not sovereign. Jesus is. Live as citizens of a better kingdom. His.