Now is the time

This past weekend our country celebrated the Fourth of July holiday. We commemorated the declaration of freedom from what was deemed, at the time, oppression by Great Britain. Our founding document, the Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” To see in historic documents the acknowledgment of a Divine Creator, to hear in documents of freedom that “all are created equal,” has been an encouragement for me as a Christian. God’s law calls us to “Love the Lord your God . . . and Love your Neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31) In a way, the beliefs put forward by the founding documents of our country reflect the law of God. While our country has never perfected these stated goals, they have nevertheless remained goals, and as a country we have continued working to achieve them.

However, as people were celebrating freedom and liberty during the holiday, shootings broke those celebrations, across our country and across the world. In Copenhagen, Denmark, on July 3, a man opened fire at the Field’s shopping mall, killing three people and critically wounding four others. In Highland Park, Illinois, just north of Chicago, there was a shooting at the Fourth of July Parade which left seven dead and at least 30 injured. What is even worse is that the horror of Highland Park has distracted us from the tragedy of other shootings on July 4 and 5 which took lives in Sacramento, CA, Denver, CO, Kenosha, WI, and Gary, IN. (Various Internet News articles) No wonder the internet headline from The Marshall Project screams, “US Mass Shootings on the Rise No Matter How You Define Them.” In his Meyer Minute devotion on July 5, Rev. Dr. Dale Meyer wrote, “Our society is breaking down.”

This reminds me of some verses from the Biblical book of Revelation. Revelation can be a confusing, controversial book. The symbolic, apocryphal language of this book has been interpreted in many ways, by many people. Yet, there are truths in this part of Scripture which God revealed, which our Lord wants us to know. God wants us to know that, in spite of the intensifying evil in our world, Jesus is victorious over Satan and over the evil in this life. The kingdom of God will be fully revealed at God’s appointed time. God wants us to know that we should take care of our own faith so that our relationship with our Lord and Savior is healthy.

Revelation 16 describes in part God’s temporal judgement on the sinful attitudes and behaviors of people in the world. The verses also show the response of people to God’s judgment. “8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him. 10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.” The sin in our world has consequences, including environmental distress, including plagues. Perhaps that should get our attention. Yet people “refuse to repent.” People refuse to turn to God in sorrow for their sin, seeking His grace and His direction for their lives.

If people won’t listen to God’s Word, they won’t listen. Personally, I confess that the turmoil in the world around us points even more to how much we need a savior, how much we need Jesus. The evil in our world tells me that God’s love is our only hope. Second Corinthians 5 and 6 teach us, “21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 1 As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.’ (2 Corinthians 5:21-6:2)

If ever there was a time that we need the righteousness of God for our sinful world, the time is now! It is time to turn from attitudes of pride and selfishness. It is time to acknowledge God is Lord, even of our lives. It is time to confess that we have sinned. It is time to turn to God in faith and to trust His love and forgiveness in Jesus. It is time to follow Jesus with our lives.

The truth is, the “self-evident truth” is, that God’s saving love in Jesus gives an eternal freedom and blessing from the sin and turmoil of our world. Now is the time!