Blog from September, 2007

A radical threat must be met by a radical response.

In the world we live in, we are engaged in an ideological struggle against a conglomerate of enemies not unlike the Axis of Evil which threatened the free world 70 years ago. They are passionate. They are committed. They should be taken seriously. They are not a joke. They are not unintelligent. They are not cowards. They are not afraid to die for what they believe in. In actuality, many of them desire to die for what they believe in. Many are passionate in a way that should shame the seriousness of our own faith, we who will not even call evil what it is.

This struggle is not about the American way of life. It is not about saving the establishment of Christendom. This struggle is about the fulfillment of prophecy and the division of the world between light and dark. It is not about profit margins, gas prices, fast food franchises, or politics as usual. It is not about getting along and discovering the good in all men while denying the corruption that also lies therein. This struggle is about confronting evil with resolve and with love. It is about defending the helpless corporately while turning the other cheek personally. It is about what is best for the world, so all people may stand before God having had the freedom to accept or reject Him on their own.

Violent Radical Islam, Militant Asian Communism, and Central American Fascism are only three of the forces we struggle against, and we will have no real victory over them until we first conquer ourselves. Our unwillingness to win our own culture war weakens our ability to stand for right and righteousness in the rest of these situations. Greed and selfishness, career party politics and cultural liberalism, personal laziness, spiritual apathy, rampant sexual sin and divorce, covetousness, violence and immoral entertainments, substance abuse, secular eduction, pornography and on-demand abortion, road rage, the international slave trade, racism and evolutionary theory, and an out of control judiciary are all partners in our impotency to appreciate the gathering storm. These also are "the powers and principalities" we war against.

The Scriptures will be fulfilled. The world will turn against the people of God and the nation of Israel. A time of tribulation is coming upon the church. We see it even in our own homes, as the whole world seems to run after its own desires in a storm of moral relativism. The End of Days has never been closer than it is now, but though the darkness is great, all is not lost.
Even as the storm gathers, the Gospel of Christ continues to go out and the people of the earth continue to hear the name of Jesus. The fields are once again white for the harvest. Who will be the workers of that harvest? Who will sow and reap for the Kingdom of God as the kingdoms of the earth tear each other apart in temporal empire building? Who will go while there is still an opportunity?

Across the street and around the world, people are hurting and hurting each other. We grab for power because we have no real sense of security. We oppress and insist upon our own rights. We turn our back on those in need. We try to shape the world into the image we wish we had because we fear death. The world is at war with itself because it is proud and afraid. It has no peace. It needs to know the Prince of Peace. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His is the everlasting Kingdom.

"How will they know unless they hear? How will they hear unless they are sent?" Sent around the world? Yes. Yes, but also sent across the country, across the state and the city, across the street, and across the room. This is the hour of our judgment. This is the day of accountability. Even if we win every battle militarily, we loose the war unless we give them Jesus as well. In this current radical struggle, we must respond radically. We must renew our passion for righteousness and for righteous living. We must know who our enemy really is, and be prepared to confront him within ourselves.