The Trials, Part 2

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Let’s look at one story…  The Persecuted…

In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar has ordered a decree that all people must bow down and worship a golden statue that he has built.  Whoever does not will be cast in to the furnace of blazing fire.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to do this, in spite of King Nebuchadnezzar’s command to worship a god.  The King vows to kill them if they do not obey him, giving them a second chance…

Daniel 3:15-28 (HCSB/(JKP edit)) says, “Now if you’re ready, when you hear the sound of the (music), fall down and worship the statue I made. But if you don’t worship it, you will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire–and who is the god who can rescue you from my power?”  (16) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question.  (17) If the God we serve exists, then He can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king.”

But notice what else they say…
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What’s the point?
What is the meaning, the purpose, the point in this crazy, crazy world of ours? 

Ah, such a big question. 

Before we get there, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  Let’s back up for a moment…

What’s wrong with this world… this crazy, crazy, messed up world? 
Tell me… What would make this world a better place?  What would make our lives better? 
Would this world be a better place if we had more control over things?  Less control?  I don’t mean a domineering control such as the likes of Hitler, Stalin, and so on…  I mean control over our daily life… control over what happens to us.
Would this world be a better place if we had more freedom in life?  Less freedom?  I’m not talking about anarchy, or totalitarianism.  I’m talking about freedom in our choices, our life, our morals, and so on.
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