Few would disagree that darkening clouds are gathering on the horizon. Consider the world conditions that capture our minds and emotions today. Terms like “humanitarian catastrophe” and “apocalyptic” are increasingly familiar. Even many who profess to be Christians are edgy with fear.
We tend to focus on this darkness because it threatens our perceived well-being. We have been content to pursue the American Dream, with little sense of responsibility in the Kingdom of God except for trying to be good people, and now that dream seems to be at risk. It is.
But the hidden wisdom of God (I Cor. 2:6-9) grips my insides even more deeply. He gets the last word about everything. Everything ultimately serves Him. Prov. 16:4 He is turning up His Light even as He allows Satan to manifest his evil in increasingly blatant ways. Read that again. It’s the Light of John 1:1-13! He is crushing the head of Satan more powerfully today than at any time since Jesus ascended to the Father and poured out His Holy Spirit. More on that next time.
These are days of unprecedented opportunity for fulfilling the Mt. 28:18-20 Great Commission. We have not done well at obeying Jesus’ command there, and I believe that He is creating another opportunity for us to break loose from our love for the world and to get down to the business of His Kingdom. See the “so that” in I Peter 2:9. There’s something for everybody. Everybody. God has a custom-made part for each one.
The choice is ours, but the Luke 19:12-27 Parable of the Minas isn’t just a children’s story. It is “serious as a heart attack,” as they say.
As we turn our hearts toward Him, we will find ourselves increasingly attracted to Light, and darkness will lose its power over us. We’ll find our life-purpose and security in new and satisfying ways despite what’s happening around us. We were created for this.
First though, we must turn our faces toward the Son, as a flower turns toward the light. II Cor. 4:6 is goose-bumpy. Savor it. Jesus, the Life-giver and fear-squelcher, is waiting.
Will you curse the darkness or will you embrace and declare the Light?
Next up – A New Day!
Ken Stoltzfus, Kidron, OH
June 30, 2020
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