The Message Before the Message

Friday, January 8, 2021

7:06 AM

A video of some us this can be seen below.

Many people, experts, pundits, leaders, followers, neighbors, co-workers, clients, and corporations are saying that the events of 2020, culminating in what took place this week are indications that the world as we know it is breaking, that the fabric of our society is finally fully tearing, instead of merely fraying, with threads here and there being pulled.  If that is what is happening, and I believe it is; we are heading into a season of unrest and difficulty at a level that none of us have ever experienced.

How did we get here?  Oh, you can begin, by pointing fingers at the left or the right.  You can start by saying if only…..

You can say “those people” are the main contributors to the problem.  We can spend a ton of time analyzing that cultural, societal, moral, governmental, and spiritual decay has been happening and why.  I would like to offer to all of us today, a simple direction in which to look, and call us all to action.  The problem is not merely corrupt systems, corrupt processes, or corrupt persons.  The real problem always has been the hearts of men, women, and children.  Then, when those hearts of men, women, and children organize together into systems, economies, organizations, governments, and movements.

You see, there is and always will be a cost to selfishness.  There is always a consequence for every act of self-focused decisions.  The outworking of a society that pursues the glory of self, and governments and leaders that pursue the glory of self (systems and individuals), of organizations, companies, movements, tribes, and groups that are about their own agendas with little or no consideration of others; this outworking is being manifested right before our eyes.

“The World is trying the experiment of attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time: so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization, and save the World from suicide.” – T.S. Elliot, 1931

Why? You ask.  Why are we seeing this?  Why have we come to this?  Where we are asking ourselves if the very society in which we live is going to survive.  I’m here to tell you that we have no one to blame but US – WE!  We are the issue.  The Church stopped being the driving force in society long ago.  The Church settled.  Settled for inspiration instead of impact.  Settled for selling ideas rather than surrendering our lives.  Settled for merely coloring instead of changing.  We as THE CHURCH have settled for touching a life instead of transforming a heart.

But know this.  We are part of the truth.  Christ and His Lordship is the only hope of our nation, of our own hearts, and of this world. 

We must know that one day – in that mighty end that is actually the beginning of the new heaven and the new earth, that every thing and person who ever lived.  In fact all creation itself will do this:

Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.