It is the Monday of Holy Week. Preparations are in full swing to get ready for the greatest festival of the entire church year: The day Christians celebrate what sets them apart from every other religion on the face of the earth - namely that God accomplishes what we cannot. Every other religion places the act of "salvation" (call it 'life after death' or whatever you wish) firmly in the hands of the individual - it's all based on "what you do." Let's face it - the world is most definitely NOT a fine place, no matter what Ernest Hemingway might have claimed. Islam especially believes that its salvation can come through, of all things, the death and destruction of other unbelievers, once again placing the burden of any notion of salvation upon the individual. Christianity stands alone in that the burden - and gift - of salvation is accomplished on our behalf by God (or more specifically the Son of God) simply because Christians recognize the sinful, and dare I say it - evil - state of humanity. We simply do not have the power, the authority, or the means to save ourselves because of it.
Recent events in Indiana have only shown the insanity and hatred that is coming from, of all groups, those who claim to be the most tolerant. As the "National Review" headlined, the "intolerance" in this debate is coming from those who seek to destroy anyone with a differing opinion. Personally, I do not care what side that one might fall on the issue. What I am deeply concerned about is that those who claim to be so tolerant of different views (without even knowing who I am or what my thoughts are on the matter) labeled me as a pig, suffering from a cognitive deficiency, hateful, a bigot, and a handful of other words. This only demonstrates yet again that in this world, no matter how much good we might think we are bringing about, in the end we are only bringing about more sin, more death, and more destruction.
On the global scene, it could be far worse. I give thanks to God that 21 Egyptian Christians, along with countless others, while having all died brutally at the hands of Isis, did so without denying their faith in Christ and knowing that their salvation is coming purely as God's gift because of their faith in Him.
I had an epiphany of sorts the other day. As I see the world and our society crumbling down around us, I began to wonder if the rampant evils - the hatred and destruction that is so commonplace - will finally bring about a new moral and spiritual awakening in America. It is long overdue. It is one thing to stand firm in your beliefs, but it is something totally different when such firmness either garners the venom and hatred of those who might disagree, or worse cause bodily harm all because of those beliefs. It seems any more that when someone seeks to be allowed to hold deeply religious or spiritual beliefs, it garners extreme hatred and prejudice along with threats of retribution.
This is the very thing Jesus came to save us from. And from our lesson on Sunday (Philippians 2:5-11) it becomes clear that either people willingly bow before Christ now, or will be forced to one day when the end of the world is ushered in. Some believe that day may be soon upon us. It could very well be. Rather, until that time, I ponder on whether the hatred that is shown toward everyone and the absolute evil of terrorism worldwide will finally get folks to stand up and notice. This is my prayer. And this is what I, and we, must work for: A new spiritual and moral awakening in this country as we recognize that evil does in fact exist, and that the standard for our mindset is to be measured by the standard Christ set for us.
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