Read Matthew 10:16, Philippians 4:8-9
In one of the last scenes of the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz, the four companions stand in a dark room before the Great and Powerful Oz. Towering flames rose on either side of the face of Oz. The four shook in fear. Then, a small dog pulled back a curtain off to the side, revealing a man operating a control board. This meek man behind the curtain was the impostor who claimed to be the mighty Oz. Things were not as they had seemed to be.
If you watch, read or listen to the daily news, this world is quite depressing. The news is filled with nothing but one story after another of shootings, kidnappings and more. There is almost no good news at all. It is frustrating because I know all the news in this world is not bad. Pull back the curtain and see what God is doing in the midst of this world. I know the bad or more spectacular news is what sells advertising time. It is all about the money and what sells. Reality seems to be a secondary concern.
The disheartening wail of the world is in full voice. This world system will attempt to grind us all into powder and convince us that we are all too small and too insignificant to do anything about all the ills of the world. I know people who do not want to try because “it just won’t help”. Then, in contrast, I read an article by the Christian author Phillip Yancey. He wrote that he had received an anonymous email that claimed that a number of things had not changed or had gotten worse since 1980. His curiosity was piqued and he began to investigate if the claims made were true. He began to dig for the facts. To make a long story short, the claims were unfounded. So many are willing to take at face value what appears to be obviously true. I am not saying the world is perfect, or even well off. There are Christians who live in fear for their lives on a daily basis. More than 4,000 children die every day. There are people, however, who are motivated by a wide variety of reasons that are making a difference. Many of them are taking the gospel with them as they go.
Jesus instructed us to always be ready; that his return would be at a time we will not expect. The world rails against Christianity. It has always done so, and the world’s desire is to turn Christianity into a bowl of polluted views that would ultimately cause Christianity’s demise. In that light, the world is still at war with Christ. As a counter point, while people go out and build homes for the poor, educate teens about social pitfalls, and raise the standard of living where they can, Jesus warned us that we would always have the poor. Just as that is no reason to stop trying to reach out to the world with hope and help, it also makes sense to defend our hearts and our minds against the lies and poisons of this world aimed at our very core. Be willing to doubt the doomsayers. Feed your heart and mind on good things. All is not lost in the world. Revival is taking place. The church is being effective. More than that, we know that, regardless of how the world ends up, a trumpet is going to sound and we will be caught up together in the air to be with the Lord.
“It is commonly said that men are forward to believe whatever is connected with their own interest. This in common cases is true; but it is also true, that when some very great and unexpected good news is brought to us, we find it very difficult to credit it.”
- Archibald Alexander
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