These
are difficult days. Days that weary the best of us and discourage the rest of
us. They are days when fears rumble in our bellies and tempers flare from
every side. They are uncertain days, days that make us wonder what
is going to happen next. It's as if an earthquake is about to erupt and we all feel the tremors.
These
days were talked about by Paul and others as they wrote of the heart of man
given full liberty to do his worst.
Paul,
the apostle, wrote these words in the beginning chapter of Romans as he talked
about the heart of man, every man, given full liberty to rebel against God and
the outcome for the world,
"They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness,
evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit,
maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God,
insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish,
faithless, heartless, ruthless."
When we live out our rebellion against God its outcome is
always felt by others. When I do whatever I want the one hurt most is me,
but also those around me. In anger, pride and strife I wound, lash out
and hurt those within my reach.
The outcome of a life lived in rebellion to God is that we
ultimately steal from, kill and destroy others and in the process destroy ourselves.
I think that's why Paul wrote these profound words just
before the passage I quoted, "thinking they were becoming wise they
actually became fools."
The rumblings have begun, the ground is beginning to shake and what can be the outcome but chaos among men and the coming return of the King who will make all things new.
It all makes me think of friends who have died of cancer. As the cancer grew worse their desire to hold on to this life diminished. Their desire to stay fell away and their desire for the new life grew. The cancer of our culture is growing, my desire to stay is waning.
I look forward to the day when we will say, "Welcome Jesus! You are the King we have longed to see!"
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