There seems to be a lot of discouragement and outrage about the state of our nation’s economy, civility, morality, spirituality, and the list goes on. I experience my share of that discouragement and the outrage every time I read the news. But do you see what this says about this generation…about we who are living in these times?
Because I write plays about biblical times, and primarily about those people who surrounded Jesus, I often find myself wondering how they processed the realization that they were specifically chosen to live in that long-awaited time. Were they in some way uniquely equipped to become the first to receive and embrace the Covenant which God had promised to Abraham in Genesis 17: 1-8? That Covenant had been prophesied by God through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-34) and brought to glorious fruition through God’s Son, Christ Jesus.
In this age, we have the benefit of the written testimonies and teachings of Paul, Peter, James, and John and the crystal clear proclamation in Hebrews 8:6-13. But the men who wrote those words were normal people, just like us. They were faced with the whole world, and everything they had always believed in being changed right before their eyes. They had to choose how they would respond.
It is true that they had the Holy Spirit to counsel and direct them. So do I, but that doesn’t mean I am absolutely certain whether what I’ve determined to do is the best thing. I take comfort that Paul didn’t always know either, since he has admitted that he was, on occasion, prevented from doing what he wanted to do.
Those heroes of the faith chose to be willing to do their part, whatever that turned out to be. They never ceased proclaiming Jesus as Savior to the whole world…Gentile and Jew alike. And for most, their final act of commitment was remaining true to their faith in Jesus as they faced a brutal execution.
Here we are, watching events unfold in our country and in the world that should make us realize that we are living in extraordinary times. Perhaps the closing chapters. Frightening times perhaps, but we aren’t being thrown to the lions or crucified for entertainment quite yet. Still, we who are in Christ are, sooner or later, going to be forced to choose how we are going to respond to the very real persecution we are just beginning to see evidenced. Living in dependence upon the sufficiency and trustworthiness of Christ alone, precisely as Paul, Peter, John, and the author of Hebrews describe Christianity, and following their example is our only hope. The nation’s hope. The world’s hope.
In Dependence,
Chip
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