Life Matters - May 1, 2024
“Peace is not the absence of conflict. It is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.” – Ronald Reagan. I am not a young lad anymore, nor am I naïve enough to look to politics for deliverance from evil, as all evil has spiritual roots, but I do believe conservative politicians are a result, if not a catalyst, in the continuation of God’s blessing upon America and by extension, those of us blessed to live here. While there has always been evil in the world since that initial fall for the devil’s lies in the Garden of Eden, and while America indeed has an often sinful past, those of us who have been around for awhile and have a passing grade in history, necessarily concede that the level of evil and self-destructive policies exuding from the White House under the Biden administration are unprecedented in the history of American politics. Former Presidents and their administrations have not been perfect, as none of us are, including, but not limited to, Donald J. Trump. Private lives have often stumbled and veered away from the straight and narrow that leads to life everlasting, yet what is unprecedented is the self-destructive policies, including, but not limited to, the fast track processing of illegal immigrants into the protective folds of government policy, and most especially, the open disrespect for the natural boundaries that constitute the perimeters of what it means to be male, female, and a biblical family structure. God is an orderly God and all of His creation has boundaries, structure, checks, and balances. As Eric Hovind (Kent) put it, “The laws of nature are universal, immaterial, and unchanging.” Who can deny it? But some do.
There has never been a time in U.S. History (I didn’t say the world) when obvious laws of nature have been so disregarded, dismissed, and even vilified by elected officials in its government (I didn’t say individuals) and when we are called upon to choose between respecting God or respecting a president and his policies the Christian obligation becomes obvious. If we do not speak up when we can, the time may soon be upon us when we cannot. God, through the prophet Daniel, warns us in Daniel 7:25 of rulers who…”shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws:” God alone knows if this prophecy is referring to one specific ruler, and if so, who that one is. Us finites can only observe and if the “shoe fits” … Unless of course, God sees fit to give a special revelation … but seeing and hearing the attempts (impossible) to change laws of nature does, ”form the shoe uncomfortably’’ (or is the word comfortably?) ‘’close to the foot.’’
The ever-widening gap between this administration’s policies and the Bible has sparked a level of culture war not seen since the 1960s hippie rebellion—which was bad enough—but this time the government is siding with the rebels even as they did (for all practical purposes) with the rioters, looters, and arsonists a few years back when they made a scape-goat of George Floyd. It is the siding of Washington D.C. with unlawful activity—openly and blatantly so—that is unprecedented in American politics. What is also unprecedented is the level of insistence and push coming from D.C. to force Americans to accept an alphabet variety of sexual perversions as if they were normal human affections acceptable for all ages. While Clinton, and especially Obama, promoted such things, the Biden administration has hit a newly insistent low in attempting to normalize what the Bible calls perverse.
We can take a lesson from Christians in Ukraine. In the midst of turmoil, of a war pushed on them by a behemoth neighbor on their eastern border, these Christians have not wearied in doing good. Three former Ukrainian men who have been making aid trips to Ukraine since the war started on Feb. 24, 2022 gave a report at our church this past Sunday of what has been happening on the Christian front since that behemoth invasion and the ensuing resistance against it. Bob is a third generation American whose grandfather came through Ellis Island in 1912. David is a second generation American with his dad, Yuri, still having a strong Ukrainian accent. They spoke about the dangers and devastations of war. David spent seven months driving a medical aid van for ICAM that was destroyed when a bomb exploded in front of it and shrapnel pierced the vehicle, but ricocheted off the windshield, protecting the occupants within. The main focus of the evening was on the openness of the Gospel this war has brought about. And the response of Christians in the midst of turmoil. A pastor and his family taking in orphans. A non-resistant white-haired pastor enlisting as an army chaplain, so he can have access to preach the Gospel. Christian Youth volunteers giving their lives to pack and deliver aid that includes spiritual literature. And they sing! They sing prayer songs for Ukraine. They sing in houses. They sing in the streets. Never knowing when a bomb might be sent their way. There are no official counts of the dead being released. But there are estimates of 500,000. Approximately 300,000 Russian soldiers and 200,000 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians killed. Even more have been wounded, many of those permanently disabled.
In the midst of it all, the Ukrainian Christians have hope beyond the grave. And so they work. They deliver aid. They spread the gospel. And they sing! To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, Peace on earth is not the absence of conflict, it is Jesus Christ being our Refuge in the midst of turmoil.
Life Matters!