"When you see a cloud rising in the west," he said to the crowds, "you say at once, 'It is going to rain,' and rain it does. When you see the south wind getting up, you say, 'It's going to rain,' and rain it does. When you see the south wind getting up, you say, 'It is going to be very hot,' and that's what happens. You imposters! You know how to work out what the Earth and the sky are telling you; why can't you work out what's going on at this very moment?"
Luke 12:54-56 Visit the college campuses and the high schools and be alarmed at the magnitude of the coming storm. That is what I did! The seeds of revolution have long been planted and are being nurtured. They are beginning to bear the thorns and thistle that they promised. But the last thing that Americans need or want is another doom and gloom blog about how bad things have gotten. What are we going to do about it? That is what this blog is about. We can read the signs, if we really want too, but most of us turn a blind eye to it. Why do we do this? Because our own fear, guilt and shame are all too real. It is hard for us to point the finger knowing that the finger will be pointed back at us and will touch a guilty nerve. Have we not believed the Gospel? Do we not know that there is forgiveness for our own sins? Maybe we need to be reminded today? Andrew Murray once said, "Only what is truly confessed is truly forgiven."
So, let's get on with it! Let's start confessing! Are you angry, unforgiving, passive, addicted or violent? Out with it! It's time to confess our sins one to another "so that we might be healed." (James 5:16). We will NEVER effectively stand against wickedness "out there" until we deal with the wickedness "in here." So don't be a fool any longer. The hurricane is just off the coast and unless repentance begins to dissipate it, it will be massive destruction. "Why don't you judge for yourself what you ought to do? When you go with your accuser before a magistrate, do your best to reach a settlement with him. Otherwise he may drag you in front of the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the officer, and the officer will throw you into jail. Let me tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the last coin."/ Luke 12:57-59 College students have repeatedly told me that people are "just animals". That should be a warning! Animals act like...well, they act like animals! Territorial creatures who use violence to
enlarge and protect their territories. Many animals have "alpha-males" who violently attack other males to protect their "rights" to the harem. Animals often leave the weak and the infirm to be devoured by predators in order to protect their own hide. Are we ready for a generation of "animals"? Yet, multiple kids on the two different college campuses I recently visited told me point blank that "people are just animals." And they call this science? It is amazing to me that parents may spend the first eighteen years of a child's life teaching that child to make his bed, fold his clothes, put the dishes away, resist hitting his sibling, get dressed for school, study hard, earn your way into college...and then when they arrive and you begin paying the enormous school fees, the college professor teaches his enlightened doctrine that people are only animals. This is "higher" education? A teenager going through puberty is nothing compared to fully grown "animals" in heat!
The reason that I was on these college campuses was for the sake for displaying for the students and faculty alike, just how violent and evil abortion really is. It is no wonder that our signs exposing the violence perpetrated against aborted babies causes such a stir. The human conscience of this "animals" are awakened from their slumber by a heavy dose of reality. Unfortunately the bankruptcy of their education has already done enough damage that this awakening is extremely difficult for some who have already followed their instincts to a dead end. Except for the grace of God, this would be a cruel and hopeless cause. But it is not. God is in the business of resurrecting humanity. Only first, some of us have to recognize where our old identity of "just animals" has led us. When we find ourselves in a dead end, we can still turn around and find that Jesus has already gone down there with us to deliver us and to restore us to our human vocation to bear His image. A distinction that elevates us far above the animals. As the Psalmist said, "When I considered the heavens, the works for Your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained; what is Man that you are mindful of him? Or the Son of man that you should care for Him?
You have made him for a little while lower than the Angels and have crowned him with glory and majesty and made him to rule over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet,
all sheep and oxen, the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, the fish of the sea,
whatever passes through the paths of the sea."
Psalm 8
We are not animals. We are only a little lower than the angels! We are not animals but their lords and shepherds. They are here to serve us, and to a lesser extent, we are here to serve them. By treating animals with dignity and respect, we honor the creator. But we also use the animals to meet our needs as they are given by God to serve that purpose. We are not animals but their lords. We are the only creatures on the planet given the ordination of the image bearers of God. This is what makes us distinct. We are humans, not animals. Therefore, we do not treat our offspring as animals but as fellow image bearers to be nurtured into this most honorable of vocations. The signs of the time should lead us to turn away from giving license to animal instincts and to embrace the calling to bear the image of God in the world.
Comments