The Thief In Your House

What would you do if a thief came into your house and began taking your possessions? What if he kicked you out of your house and locked you out of it? What if he took your children and imprisoned them? Would you fight back? Or would you just turn the other cheek? I think that most of you would fight back. This home invasion would be a place where you would draw the line and do what you could to stop the thief. Even if the thief got away, you would find a way to pursue him and bring him to justice, get your children back, and restore your property. You would see this thief as an enemy to your life, liberty and happiness. I am reporting that this is already happening to you and asking what are you doing about it?

We can wax spiritually about the condition of the nation and of the world. There is nothing we can do to stop the march of prophecy. Why would we want to? But we can determine our place in it. Jesus and the Apostles knew that we would face tribulation. Jesus said in John 16:33, "In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Jesus also gives us an example about the thief and the good shepherd. He said in John 10:10, "The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy." Jesus goes on to say that he is the good shepherd, "and I lay down my life for the sheep." We all know that in the physical world, Jesus gave his life that we might have salvation and eternal life.
Jesus also said in John 15:12 and 13, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Here we have the example of Jesus. He gave his life here on the physical earth that we might have life eternally--this is both spiritual and physical. Interesting that he spoke of loving one another and in the same context that he said that there is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends. To me, this is far from being passive. Like Jesus, I believe that it is our duty to protect our family and friends and lay down our life for them if the ultimate need arises. In this, we are good shepherds here on earth.
Back to the thief in your house. This thief has pillaged your wealth. This thief has indentured the future of your children that they might be slaves to him. This thief has placed your belongings at his behest. This thief has stolen your freedom, limited your life, and ridiculed your service to God. This thief is becoming a tyrannical beast. But as long as he allows some freedom, little is done about his aggression. To rid themselves of this thief, our forefathers took action with a pledge: "...with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." It took violence and an act of God to remove the thief from their houses in 1776. Hopefully, we can wake up and do it non-violently. We must become good shepherds.