You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution. Is it really that cut and dried?
It’s easy to look around and identify problems. Our political process and parties are in shambles across the globe. Read the headlines. Our leadership in corporate America has lost it’s moral compass and greed runs rampant. Nations refuse to communicate with each other. Un-elected bodies like the European Union tax a nation and it’s citizens to support an agenda that dissolves sovereignty and therefore irreparably changes the culture of a nation. The list goes on.
The old is either on the way out or has already left the building. Another word for these changes is death. Death to what has been. Death to the old gives life to the new. But what is the new that is coming from the situations we find facing our world and country?
Death is one of the most natural aspects of life. All of us will leave this world 6 feet under. Only when a kernel of corn dies and falls into the ground can a stalk arise and form thousands more. Only when a wildflower is destroyed and the dead seed spreads will fifty more arise. In nature, it is through dying that we live. It works the same in all of God’s Kingdom.
In 2 Corinthians 4:7-11, Paul reminds Christians that death is part of the plan. We should not only expect death but embrace it. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed…For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.”
The world and it’s inhabitants are being hard pressed. People are down right perplexed about what the heck is going on. Aren’t you? People here and abroad are being persecuted for their beliefs. Folks are literally being struck down, their heads chopped off on video for the world to see. And don’t forget, Christians around the world are at the front of the line in these persecutions.
Christ told us this was going to happen. “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 10:22.
We know that what we see is a reflection of an unseen spiritual world. We know we live in a world at war. Our battle may not be against flesh and blood, but we CAN see it right now. If YOU can’t see it today then you’ve been blinded or choose to ignore. Don’t be afraid or run from the death and suffering that is rampant. It is through being broken and shred apart that we become strong.
Like what we see in nature, it is the endurance of one that produces a multitude. “It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.'” Fight the inclination to withdraw your words and actions from a world that is dying to the past. Be a part of the change you were born for. Be a part of the change you were saved for. You are here “for such a time as this.” Wake up and don’t lose heart.
Don’t take the passive attitude that this too shall pass. It WILL pass. It will change. What will YOU look like in the new that is to come? “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17.
For a believer, NOW is the time for more wisdom, more discernment and more revelation than ever before. It IS different this time folks. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers.” Ignore that at the peril of your soul and the souls of your children.
America has bathed in the blessings of Almighty God for a long time. We were founded on the Judaeo-Christian principals and beliefs that allowed God to shower our people and nation. But when our leadership declares that we are no longer that nation, be forewarned. We may be a constitutional republic but our leadership represents us to the Kingdom of Heaven and the world. THEY are paying attention.
My point is this. We are seeing a collapse in the faith of people in their governments around the globe. People are allowing themselves to be represented by those who do not share their core beliefs. In turn, that leadership is consciously and unconsciously changing the people they represent. It is imperative that believers return to their God and their faith. That return will be marked by suffering as evidenced in words like hard pressed, perplexed and broken.
In the above referenced scripture from 2 Corinthians, focus on verse 7 for a minute. ‘But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” This treasure we have is Christ himself. The change and death of the old ways we are witnessing is for the purpose of revealing Him to everyone.
Will you aid in this revelation or be a hindrance? Let others see Him in you. Make sure you don’t ignore or try to avoid the pains this change will bring. Get ready and welcome a little suffering. What you are and what you have is the solution.
Recognize that what we are witnessing everyday is part of His plan. It is pretty cut and dried. Be part of the solution and not the problem.