Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Do you believe that He is the Lord of lords, and the King of kings? I know there are Christians who believe this. However, I have spent the last several years reading the history books that Christian families give their children in public schools, private schools, and home schools. I do not find mention of Jesus Christ as Lord of history. It is rare to find tribute to the Lord Jesus Christ, as the most influential and the most important man in history.
Is this a major oversight? Why do writers forget to mention Christ?
Perhaps it is because some do not realize that Jesus Christ is a man, who came in the flesh. He was born of the virgin Mary, during the reign of Augustus Caesar. This is the testimony of the Apostle John: “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, of which you have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” These are pretty severe words. It is essential that we realize the humanness of Jesus Christ, and His importance in human history. He really did come in the flesh, and He really did make an impact on our world. To fail to realize his relevance and His kingdom, and to focus more upon Philip II, Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, and Josef Stalin than upon Christ in history is a fatal mistake. It betrays a dishonor for the Lord Jesus Christ in the study of history.
Where is the Roman Empire that persecuted Jesus’s people? Gone. Where is the Spanish Empire that persecuted Jesus’s people during the inquisitions in the Netherlands and Spain? Gone. Where is the French Empire that persecuted Jesus’s people, the Huguenots, during the Reformation? Gone. Where is Hitler and the Third Reich? Gone. Where is the Soviet Union? Gone. Where is Jesus’s Kingdom? Everywhere!
Another reason why people ignore Christ in their study of history is that they do not see how His kingdom is of any real importance “on earth as it is in heaven.” They do not look upon the missionary work as important to changing lives, families, and culture. They are also more enamored by the works of men, than they are with what God is doing. They are too taken up by politics. However, politics doesn’t really change anything. Politics cannot really improve anything. The best civil governments can do is go to war or punish a murderer here and there (Gen. 9:6, Rom. 13:4).
It is the Gospel of Christ and the work of missionaries around the world that have made the biggest impact on communities, economies, social systems, morals, science, and medicine. The problem with man is the human heart, and the sinfulness that resides there. Only the preaching and teaching of the Word of God will ever bring about substantial change to this world. It was not the big governments that brought about great and wonderful things. It was the Lord that did it, by His Spirit and by the work of His people through the ages. This is the amazing story we tell in our new release, Taking the World for Jesus.
As Christian parents, we want our children to see the Lord Jesus as a real Person. We want them to see His importance, His relevance, His accomplishments, His Redemptive work, and His Lordship more and more. We love the Lord Jesus, and we want to render Him more honor than ever in their history classes. That is why we have published a new world history book that tells the story: Taking the World for Jesus.