Karl Barth, on the day of his death, spoke these last words to his friend Eduard Thurneysen on the telephone on December 9, 1968:

[1]

These words are more than appropriate for the highly political times we currently inhabit. It is easy for me, and probably for you, to get bogged down in the issues of the day, and forget that we are part of a cosmic struggle [and Kingdom]. What Barth said to his friend reminds me of what the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The real partisanship, the only partisanship, is between Light and darkness; the kingdom of the Son of God’s love, and the kingdom of darkness. It is this struggle that ought to inform the way we view the politick in the global and domestic world today. It is the values of King Jesus, those shed abroad in the hearts of those who love Him that ought to shape the way we move and breathe in this evil age. Barth understood this all too well as he lay on his death bed. The valley of the shadow of death has a way of refining us, and allowing us to see with clairvoyance, what ultimately matters and what doesn’t. For Barth, the reality was that no matter what: Jesus is King, He is Lord. May we never forget this reality; for it is and will be the reality for all eternity and time to come.

[1] Center for Barth Studies, accessed 02-07-2020.