The sun has gone to bed. So should I. My mind wanders. I tap the keyboard, then delete. Somehow, I want to put into words what my eyes and ears see and hear. So that maybe, just maybe, one person out there will be encouraged to take the high ground and stay the course.
Ever since my eyes were opened to the holocaust of abortion, I’ve been on the go. It’s as if God’s own Spirit has nudged me: Get involved! Lend a hand! Offer a shoulder! Make a difference while there is light of day! In the midst of it, I heard the whispers: “She’s a bit too intense.” “Why doesn’t she lighten up?”
I remember the older woman who, most kindly, said, “Thank you for your message about abortion, but my children are all grown now and this issue really doesn’t affect me.” My emotion wanted to scream, but my better judgment took control. I sighed, smiled… then tried to explain. Abortion is the slippery slope to euthanasia… and so much more.
Well, it’s so “much more” later. Here we are, mired in a culture that defends government-funded abortion and wonders why acts of violence increase, calls homosexual behavior a civil-rights issue, sexualizes children but bemoans an epidemic of STDS and troubled teens, arrogantly re-defines marriage and family, seriously considers the transfer of American parental rights over to the United Nations, positions itself to deny freedom of religion, and sets up government health care that may judge some of us as “too burdensome.”
Narcissism rules and chaos reigns. Or, does it?
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth,” God asked Job. “Tell me if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements . . . or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut in the sea with doors . . . and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed?'” (Job 38:4-11).
God, the creator of the universe, has never and will never relinquish control. It would be contrary to His very nature. The God who “binds the chains of the Pleiades” and loosens “the cords of Orion” (v. 31); the God who sends “forth lightenings, that they may go and say to you ‘Here we are’ (v. 35), and the God who put “wisdom in the inward parts” and gave “understanding to the mind” (v. 36) is the God who “provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food . . .” (v. 41).
Does chaos reign? No, there is evidence of order and Truth at work.
I was reminded of this fact while captive on board a gated-plane. Maintenance crews took three hours to service an engine, but captivity turned into opportunity for me to read the observations of John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, authors of the book God Is Back. Both agree that Christianity is poised to do well — and better than Islam — in the 21st century. For example, “The Quran can’t be translated into any other language. So most people that Muslims are converting do not understand a word of what they are taught to recite . . .” Contrast that with the fact that the Bible is published in 95% of the languages of the world.
Here’s another example. Have you noticed the growing number of bestsellers by atheists during the past several years? Micklethwait says, “You do not suddenly wake up in a panic about God being bad or terrible if you think you’ve already won the argument. If you went back 10 or 20 years, the idea that Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens could write a bestseller on the subject would have seemed odd, because — certainly in Europe — most of the educated elites would have assumed God was disappearing anyway, so what’s the worry?” (WORLD, June 20, 2009, “Q & A” by Marvin Olasky)
Does chaos reign?
“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision'” (Psalm 2:1-4).
“God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne” (Psalm 47:8).
“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told . . .” (Habakkuk 1:5).
We may fear that an immoral culture will absorb us. We may feel powerless to resist. Paralyzed. But, while God is doing His work, there is something for us to do, too. We can live. We can live as men and women eager to glorify God while He transforms the culture. God gives us a model for affecting the lives of others. It follows the order of creation and can be found in Titus 2:1-8. A young pastor named Titus used this model to help believing men and women push back against the culture while raising a new generation of hope.
Narcissism may seem to rule. It may appear that our world is spinning out of control. But, did you notice that my fingers aren’t paralyzed anymore? The darkness overpowered me for awhile last night… but the Lord’s compassions are new every morning! Because of His great love, we are not consumed. (Lamentations 3:22-23) Rather, we are re-energized and equipped to re-engage.
Hope rises up in unexpected places. How can it not? Hope is Jesus Christ. He is the Word. And, the Word is at work. Therefore…
Narcissism does not rule. Chaos does not reign. God does.
Don’t Mingle, “Dig In”
Posted in Commentaries of others, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Life issues, tagged " conform, " vulnerability, chaos, church, God's Word, hope and change, influence, Jesus Christ, kindness, lifestyle, nation, order, PC, political correctness, public opinion, silly myths, The Life, The Truth, The Way, world on October 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Andree Seu, writing in WORLD (11-6-10), paraphrases comments made to her by Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf. With both hands about shoulder-level, roughly 12-inches apart, Rep Wolf explained to Seu that we have “the church” here and “the other world” here. He posited that this is always a constant distance of separation. Seu writes,
“Where the thing gets scary, explained Wolf, is that as the world moves toward greater immorality, the church continues to keep the same distance from it. That is to say, the church is sliding into debauchery along with the world, just at a slower rate. What is important to note is that this slippage from God is not so easily detected because the gap between church and world remains the same, and so we seem, to ourselves, to be doing OK.”
In the first session of my Titus 2 Retreat, “We Are Vulnerable,” I ask the group to give examples of “silly myths” that lead to “social experiments.” Believing “silly myths” (i.e. abortion is a woman’s right or two women who love each other should be able to marry) inevitably leads to social experimentation. Such experimentation is actually tampering with God’s design. This is never good for a people who want to imagine beyond themselves to new generations. God’s design brings order and new life. Experimenting with His design brings chaos and death.
We are vulnerable, I explain during a Titus 2 Retreat, when we profess Jesus Christ as our Lord but wrap Him around silly myths and social experiments. There is a saying: “We become like the company we keep.” We become like the world — even though we think we’re keeping a distance — when we begin to mingle (just a little here or a little there). When we let worldly ideas of spirituality, worship, the roles of men and women, marriage, family, and children weave into Christianity, we’re in trouble. Truth does not embrace or wrap around worldly ideas. Truth and the world are opposites. A lesson from history gives some clarity.
In the Old Testament book of Ezra, we learn that the king of Persia was going to allow the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem. They had been exiles and captives for a long time. It’s important to note that only a small number of Jewish exiles wanted to return to their homeland. Most were unwilling to give up their Babylonian property or lifestyle to go back to their old ways. So, because there was such a small group of workers, the rebuilding of Jerusalem became more difficult. There were people in the area who offered their help. Those people didn’t believe in God and held to a blend of mixed religious beliefs. It goes without saying that they had motives of their own. The Jewish people refused the offer of help with their building project. Why? 1) The task was given exclusively to God’s people; 2) accepting help from non-believers would obligate God’s people to pagan ways; and 3) the potential for corruption in worship was too great if God’s people became aligned with non-believers. (Ezra 4:3)
A Christian, wanting to be progressive, might think: If I embrace the best parts of a worldly idea, I will be able to move forward the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a modern way. But, too often, moral-influence flows the opposite direction. God knows that. Therefore, He says: Don’t mingle; dig in. Dig in to the One Who is not of this world (John 18:36). Jesus says, “I am the Light.” The world is dark (John 1:4-5). “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The world is deceptive and leads to death (John 10:10). “My peace I give you.” The world offers no such peace. (John 14:27) For this reason, St. Paul was inspired to write in Romans 12:2:
Don’t mingle. Dig in.
To mingle with the world is to walk on shifting sand. For awhile, public opinion might lean one way; then, depending upon anything from the economy to a national crisis, public opinion can suddenly shift the opposite direction. Andree Seu explains that there is “a little thing called the ‘Overton Window.’ It is the term for an insight by a Joseph P. Overton that at any given point in the stream of a population’s public life there is a ‘window’ that contains or frames a range of opinion that is currently acceptable. Outside that window lie the ideas considered wacko. The intriguing thing is that what is ‘acceptable’ and what is ‘wacko’ can (and does) shift. The window itself moves — and clever and diabolical forces have an interest in moving it.”
What was “radical” yesterday is “acceptable” today. The unthinkable, notes Andree Seu, can go from “popular” to “policy.” Remember. Ideas like abortion, homosexual “marriage,” and euthanasia used to lurk in the shadows of the American landscape. Not anymore.
I’m an ezer woman who lives in a culture where “evil” is called “good.” For this reason, I’m compelled to dig heels into the foundation of God’s Word but, at the same time, push forward with weapons of truth. As ideas and behaviors spiral downward, the one who follows Jesus is called to be intentionally polite. Kind. Pure. This will irritate some and be seen as naive by others. But, for a neighbor caught momentarily in darkness, the light may shine more brightly. The Word of Truth, kindly spoken, pulls from shifting sand to solid ground.
There is a model for those who no longer want to mingle but, instead, dig in. Curious? I invite you to explore Titus 2 for Life.
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