Don’t be deceived, my dearly loved brothers. Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. By His own choice, He gave us new birth by the message of truth so that we would be the firstfruits of His creatures. James 1:16-18 HCSB
The world today reminds me of how the Bible describes man in Noah’s time. Genesis 6:5-6 says when the LORD saw man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time, the LORD regretted He had made man, and He was grieved in His heart. I wonder how God’s must heart must ache at what is taking place in the world today? God knows all. He knew all this was going to happen. It’s no surprise to God but this doesn’t mean that it grieves Him any less than it grieved Him in Noah’s day. He knew what was going to happen then as well.
We are constantly hearing of shootings happening all around us. Many say the problem with the world today is a lack of gun control. If you look at the vast majority of shootings many are taking place in gun free zones. These are areas where guns are clearly prohibited. They have signs that say this, and they even have little drawings of guns with a circle around them and a line through it for those who can’t read. The problem is criminals have no regard for laws, rules and regulations. They totally disregard the Ten Commandments, especially the one that says thou shalt not kill. It’s illegal for anyone to have possession of a firearm in a gun free zone, but this is where most of the shootings are taking place. Do you really think criminals would get rid of their guns if they were illegal?
The true problem in this world today is a lack of Jesus Christ. Too many people walk around with bitterness and hatred in their hearts. Not enough people are willing to surrender to Christ and have their hearts filled with the Holy Spirit.
The problem is we have turned away from Jesus Christ and we need to turn back to Him. Those of us who call ourselves Christians have a responsibility to spread the word. We have a responsibility to be good witnesses through our words and our deeds. We have a responsibility to let others see Jesus Christ through us. Our pastor often says we may be the only Bible a person ever reads. If someone was reading you, what would they read? Would it be a mystery with them having no idea where you stand or where you will go when you die? Or would it be a love story, filled with the kind of love we read about in our Bibles? Would they see the kind of love Jesus had for us?
People are hurting because they don’t have Jesus in their lives, but unfortunately, they are too blind to see this. And yes I know it sounds cliche, but hurting people hurt people. People who are insecure in their lives put down on other people in an effort to lift themselves up. People who have been hurt by others carry around bitterness and anger which causes them to hurt other people. And so the cycle continues.
But for those of us who have surrendered our lives to Christ, we should be a beacon of light to those who are lost. Others should see something different in us. They should see something they want in their own lives.
We can look at many problems in society today and say the problem with the world is a lack of gun control, or school discipline, or laws that aren’t strict enough, or police brutality or whatever. But if we are totally honest with ourselves, it’s a lack of Jesus Christ. We fail to surrender to Christ in our home life. We fail to imitate Christ when we are out in public. We fail to focus on Him and put Him first in all we do. Then we have the nerve to blame everyone else for what’s wrong in the world today.
In all the evil of Noah’s day, one man found favor with God. This was Noah and it worked out pretty well for Him. Noah was unable to change the world, but he and his family survived when all others perished. Give that some thought.
Have a great day!