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and their governments which slaughtered 10s of millions of innocent people just in the last 100 years. When we forget the lessons of history we are bound to repeat it. We have to remember these murderers were the very people whom men went to looking for solutions to their problems. Like men from old did before us we seem to deceive ourselves into believing my man, the guy I supported wouldnt do such dastardly deeds. We convince ourselves that no matter how bad things get, it cant be his fault; after all he continually tells us it was worse than he realized and he only wants the best for the folks. But our guy is like the rest of us, evil to the core and will take advantage of apathy and ignorance whenever he can. Again therein lays the quandary, we think of ourselves as basically good natured people; but people who believe they are good can only see the good which dwells in others, if there is any to be seen. Believing man to be evil by nature is anathema to our thinking. Enough about how we deceive ourselves; the question is where do we find hope? The Psalmist tells us the mischief makers will eventually fall into the pit of their own evil making. He goes on to say the evil makers mischief will return on their own heads and their skulls will be crushed. Is it false hope to rely on God to bring
down the evil makers of the world? Did the Psalmist of long ago live in a world of idealism where he falsely sought some sense of a consolation of hope? No, no, no! This is not idealistic poetry of a day dreamer wishing things would get better. This is Gods word telling us we are not forgotten and He will bring evil to its own demise. We should believe in this hope for two reasons. First the history of man has shown us the evil of this world eventually comes to its own ruin. God rises up someone for a short period of time and quenches the fires of hate and destruction. In the last century men like Churchill and Roosevelt stood in the gap and lead the world through the horrors of WWII to extinguish the flames of Nazism and Fascism. Unfortunately millions died because they didnt have the means to defend themselves. But more importantly they died because they did not see potential of the awful evil which lies in the hearts of men. Thus the hope discovered in history is the lessons it teaches; but only if we will listen and learn. The second reason we have hope is found in Psalms 52:1a where God tells us His love endures all the day. The psalmist is giving us the promise of Gods love even in times such as these, when there seems to be little or no hope.
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People often ask why we should study the history of the Jewish people found in the Old Testament. The reason is found in Gods love for His people and how He continually delivers them from the evil of this world. God does this over and over demanding nothing from us except our love for Him in return. But as long as Gods people sit in the luxury of their personal salvation caring modestly about the plight of the world, evil will rage on with its lies and devastation. The truths all men must come to grips with are; man is evil by nature and will continue to plot to destroy and maim. But it is hard to define which is the greatest evil; men who enjoy doing evil, or men who say they hate evil but do nothing about it. There is a saying, evil flourishes when good men do nothing. The second great truth is, God loves us and will redeem His people when they turn from their evil ways to Him. But as long as we tolerate evil we credit ourselves with condoning what we claim to hate. Toleration and excusing evil then becomes passive participation. How can we expect God to bless us with hope when we sit by with little concern and watch good be overcome by evil? You might be asking what can we do and what should we do next? But who am I to tell you what needs to be done; all us are familiar with enough truth to know right from wrong. The real question is, are there people with the desire, who have the willingness and the courage to do what needs to be done? History says yes and I believe our time is no different than the times of the past. You can be the next person to stand in the gap bringing good to bear against evil. You can be the person demanding justice. You can do this in your household, in
your neighborhood, in your community, and in the world. God honors those who seek His righteousness. Please respond with a comment on how you intend to stand in the gap. If you dont feel the need for action let us know why you dont and what you think needs to be done next, if anything.
Scarcely a day goes by without yet another reminder of the ancient Roman phrase, Homo homini lupus est: man is a wolf to his fellow man. The terrible bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathonwhich, at the time of this recording, killed three people, including an eight-year-old boy, and injured at least 140 othersis just the latest graphic piece of evidence. And the bombing is also further proofas if we needed moreof what Christian writer Ed Stetzer calls the brokenness in our fallen world. Yet Christians know that this is, at best, an incomplete depiction of man. Fallen men are capable of incredibleor, perhaps, all-toocrediblecruelty towards each other. But even in our fallen state, we are capable of just the opposite: overcoming evil with good.
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As one of my colleagues pointed out, one of the most striking and certainly the most moving images coming out of Boston was of people rushing forward toward the sites of the explosions to help the injured. The Archbishop of Boston, Sean OMalley, spoke for many of us when he said that the citizens of the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are blessed by the bravery and heroism of many, particularly the men and women of the police and fire departments and emergency services who responded within moments of these tragic events. But it wasnt only those in uniform. Carlos Arredondo, a peace activist whose son was killed in Iraq, became a national hero when he jumped over the security fence and started helping the injured. And he wasnt the only civilian who ran towards the chaos when common sense dictated running away from it. Watching the coverage, another colleague was not only inspired by the actions of those who rushed to the aid of the injured but also saw in their actions a metaphor of what it means to be the Church in a broken and fallen world. As Ed Stetzer wrote, its not enough for Christians merely to recognize that the world isnt what it ought to be and that people are suffering in ways they shouldnt have to suffer. Instead, our sorrow and indignation should prompt us to act in ways that subvert that brokenness. Our task is to work to make this world more as God would intend it to bewith justice, peace, and more. Or as Chuck Colson used to put it, our task is to make the invisible Kingdom visible.
Chuck loved to tell the story of how, when the great plagues struck ancient Rome and the doctors fled the city, Christians stayed behind and cared for the sick, even though as a result some contracted the plague themselves and died. They saw this as part of what it meant to be Gods people in a suffering world. As a result of their witness, many pagans became Christians because they saw in this sacrificial love something that paganism could not offer. That something was the invisible Kingdom now made visible. Think of Mother Theresa. While other people abandoned the sick and dying of Calcutta, she embraced them. In doing so, she and her Missionaries of Charity made the invisible Kingdom visible one dying person at a time. Every time Prison Fellowship volunteers reach out to a different kind of pariahprisoners they announce that this worlds brokenness is not final. God is at work setting things right. One day, because of the resurrection of Jesus, it will all be set right. But for now, we keep running toward the chaos making visible to the world the invisible Kingdom of God that will one day fill the whole earth.