Living like lights in a world of mistrust and evil
In this nation we love, evil is personified on television before our very eyes. From the colorful bad guys with a lust for evil to the real-life dramas of serial killers, this evil saturates our lifestyles. We also see bad news stories in the news headlines on a daily basis. Murders, violence, kidnappings, hurricanes, tornadoes, wars, famines, plagues and more are on the menu throughout the day. This diet of chaos comes from the high avenues of New York, a famous Times Square news office, to the hallowed halls of most Internet users, the news is all the rage. We receive a lot.
As a result, people have learned to be suspicious. Gone are the days when children respected their elders. Now they are fearful, mistrustful and even spiteful towards other adults. Many children are raised to “not talk to strangers,” and are taught that these strangers are murderers, kidnappers, and abusers. However, the problem is that there are these bad guys in the mix, evil men who will harm innocents. The sad thing is that many young children miss out on meeting other adults who simply love children and want to help them. As a result, today’s adults do not even pay attention to children. They leave that to their parents; unless of course something happens that brings them to the point of getting involved with the kids, say an accident or something.
Even women today, provoked by more rapes and murders of women than ever before, are on the lookout for such bad people. As a man, I know a woman who is afraid from a block away. For those women, seeing a man, especially when there’s not a crowd around, is totally scary. They move to the other side of the street before passing any man on the same sidewalk, assuming the man would throw the woman out in broad daylight and rape her. The problem, again, is that not all men are rapists and murderers. Many have wives and daughters. Many have not been unfaithful to their spouses. In an incident on the street, I saw a young woman approach me. She smiled and said in a nice and friendly voice, “How are you today?” She surprised me, but I smiled back and said, “Fine, what about you?” We passed each other and went our separate ways.
In another part of the country we find secular humanists, nihilists and the like, according to author Mark Ames of nypress.com, an alternative newspaper. His distrust is of conservative Christians. He sees them as having an evil agenda, per say. Mark, speaking of the conservative Christian agenda and their belief in end-time events, says: “Currently, 65 million American cultists are using everything in their power, from prayer to politics, to make this Helter Skelter scenario a reality.” Speaking of Christians as cultists, Mark views a certain segment of society with suspicion. That part of society is the part that I personally follow. Although my doctrinal views may differ from other conservative believers, Mark has lumped us all together.
As we walk the narrow corridor of life, it contains many pitfalls. The biggest stumbling block here for the believer is how to be a “light” that shines in the dark. Jesus spoke to us in Matthew chapter five, verse sixteen saying, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” As a follower of Christ, I must let my light shine. That means letting the love of Christ flow through me to those around me. Paul was commissioned by Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter twenty-six and verse eighteen and was told, “Let him open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness.” “. of sins, and an inheritance among those who are sanctified through faith which is in me.” This verse reveals to us that there is a power of light and a power of darkness. This darkness is equal to the power of Satan. It is in the clutches of Satan that the people of this world encounter. It is a grip that does not want the individual to find forgiveness of sins or be sanctified through faith in Jesus Christ. Thus the battle begins. One side is in the dark and the other in the light.
It is here that the “love quotient” should be inserted. In John chapter three verse sixteen it says “for God so loved the world that he gave it.” Yes, God so loved that he gave his only Son on the cross. But in John chapter three verse eighteen it says that “He who believes in him is not condemned; but he who does not believe, he has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God ”. The word believe here in the Greek means to trust, lean on, and hold on as well. This is like a life preserver in the ocean and you are drifting without one, until you see the life preserver. You have to cling to it to be saved. On the contrary, the words “does not believe” mean that the person is condemned and guilty before God. Also, John in chapter three, verse nineteen says that this condemnation means that “light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John further explains in verse twenty that “everyone who does evil hates the light, and he does not come to the light, lest his works be blamed.” Thus, we find the “love quotient” here in the world. You must accept this “love quotient”, which is Jesus Christ; believe in him, to remain blameless and without condemnation. For many in the world, however, his love of bad things separates them from this. They just don’t want to give up the things they do.
So the battle is raging today. On the one hand, the people who think everyone is conservative, the people who believe in the “salvation of the soul” found in Hebrews 10:39 form a religious cult. Jesus warned us in John chapter fifteen and verse eighteen “If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you.” However, as believers, we are as Matthew chapter five, verse forty-four says: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” “. .” By doing this, Love conquers hate and unbelief. A lawyer asked Jesus which were the most important commandments. Our Lord responded in Matthew chapter twenty-two, verses thirty-seven through forty saying: to the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is similar: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Love your neighbor, this fulfills the law. This love drives the believer to testify what God has done for him through Jesus Christ. This love means that the Christian represents the light and what he is. This love leads the believer to give his life to share the gospel. For the world, it means, the believer will not give up or shut up. For the world, it means that there is only one path to salvation. That is, through the Lord Jesus Christ. For those who get tired of hearing the good news or the need to be saved, it won’t stop. That is our call to love, to share, to bring the good news of salvation to each person.
In the end, there will be those who will hate the message and the messenger. But, there will always be those who needed to hear the message. This message speaks of a loving savior saying, “Come to me all you who are weak and heavy laden. Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is light.” There are those who, even in this hectic and turbulent world, even hearing a message of love, will hate and despise those who bring it to them. For those who follow the Lord, let’s not forget the “love quotient” in the midst of a dangerous world and difficult times. Because as Judas said in verses twenty-one to twenty-three: “Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment stained by the meat.