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.
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There is a “shocking level of moral illiteracy” among American kids. A few years ago, writes Chuck Colson, the Josephson Institute of Ethics released the findings of its survey, “Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth.”
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