Today is Black Friday, the start of the Christmas shopping season. Every year about this time, there rises a hue and cry about the “commercialization” of Christmas, accompanied by impassioned pleas to get back to the “real meaning” of the celebration. Too much time and money, we hear, are spent on the public side of the holiday—the hustle and bustle of shopping, the lavish decorations, and the often insincere displays of seasonal piety. Meanwhile, the true spirit of Christmas gets left behind. Some even argue that all public displays of Christmas are inappropriate.

Scripture teaches that God is the sovereign Lord over all of His creation. He determines the beginning from the end. All things work according to His foreordained plan.[1] The question is; does this include the rise and fall of nations? Is God interested in petty politics and the discovery of nations? Did the sovereignty of God extend over the discovery and colonization of Australia? To some the answer is obvious. Others may be wondering; surely God does not involve Himself in the paltry affairs of men. Why would the pure and perfect Creator take interest in the dirty work of humanity? Does the Bible answers these questions? In Acts 17:26  we read; “He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.” Why on earth would God do this? “So that they [all kinds of peoples] should seek the Lord” (Acts 17:27 ).