You've heard the frantic and/or depressed declarations, haven't you?
"The world has gone crazy."
"These are the end times."
"I don't feel safe driving to the store anymore."
First of all, as heartfelt and desperate as some of these kind of statements may be, 2016 is not the first time they've been said. Every time some faction strikes out against another in the Middle East, 12 new books are published about end-time prophecy (boldly flying in the face of Jesus' words in Matthew 24:6, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come."). Every new generation seems to throw away the values of the old one. Each election cycle stirs up fears of how the country will be ruined if The Other Guy (or Gal) gets more votes. I'm old enough to remember how "the whole world [was] watching" as 10,000 protesters and 23,000 Chicago police and National Guardsmen violently interacted at the 1968 Democratic convention.
Second of all, there is a distinct possibility of good coming from all this bad. Yes, I'm serious. If nothing else, isn't it possible for the current unrest to break through the personal barriers to faith that some people have erected and lead them to see that, left to our own devices, we will surely destroy ourselves? Won't some be enabled to open their eyes and see that, indeed, the world needs Jesus?
When we share the love of Jesus
See each other as He sees us
Then His love will see us through
Truth is...Some will look at current events and see the absence of God. Some will see the retaliation of God. Some will predict the soon return of God's Son. Me? I see our need for God. In any case, could there be a better time to do some reflecting on how a person ought to live and who a person ought to follow?
