Take Hope
By Jack Wyman
The title gets your attention.
It’s not calculated to reassure but to grip you.
To stir you.
It’s not exactly hopeful but it’s direct.
“The Coming Tsunami: Why Christians are labeled intolerant, irrelevant, oppressive and dangerous.”
The author, Dr. Jim Denison, a brilliant Christian commentator, warns us on the cover:
“The coming cultural tsunami is the gravest threat Christians in America have ever faced. We can still turn the tide, but we must act now.”
One way to act, of course, is to buy his book and discover why Christians are dismissed as dangerous and irrelevant oppressors; threats to the body politic and cultural comity.
When I read the description and review of Dr. Denison’s latest book, I began to wonder about the present American Christian mentality - and heart.
Many Christians in America are concerned, confused, fearful and despondent. Many are angry and increasingly suspicious. Fewer are hopeful and confident. We are much likelier today to wring our hands in despair than to celebrate our hope in Christ.
Why is that? Should it be?
There is justified cause for concern. Morally, economically, politically and spiritually, there is clear and convincing evidence in our nation - and throughout western civilization - of a tectonic cultural shift. Yes, the signs of our times are alarming. Anyone not living in a hermetically-sealed bubble knows this and is disturbed.
It is right to be aware and concerned. For the follower of Jesus Christ who loves and cares about people, ignorance can never be bliss. The eagle, not the ostrich, is our example. Neither must the state of our times rob us of our Christian joy and hope.
We must reject the voices of panic and despair. They will not give us comfort. They will not guide our path. They do not speak for God. Worry and discouragement are nowhere listed as fruits of the Spirit. Joy and peace are mentioned. Faith, hope, and love are said by the apostle Paul to be the greatest and most enduring virtues of the Christian life.
Jesus told his disciples, on the eve of their greatest collective fear and despair, “let not your heart be troubled.” John 14:1
It has been said that the optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds, and the pessimist fears this is true.
Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Should the Christian ever be a pessimist? There is much in our world to make us discouraged and fearful. There is much more in our faith and in our future to make us hopeful and unafraid.
A friend asked me recently, in discussing the maelstrom of our age, what I would say to Christians who argue that concerns for our country and its problems distract our attention from the imperative of the gospel.
I told him that civil government is an institution ordained by God. That America has been blessed by God and that our unparalleled liberty affords us the opportunity to do so much good - in service to Christ, in sharing the Good News and in helping to improve the lives of others.
America is a gift from God. Its founding was a miracle of God. Its preservation a protection of God and its freedom a blessing of God.
Citizenship is both a right and duty. It is part of the honor we pay to our government and our country, according to God’s command in Romans 13. Daniel Webster said that whatever makes a man a good Christian makes him a good citizen.
Patriotism is a virtue, but it must never become an idol. For all the love we give our great nation, we dare not neglect the primacy of the spiritual.
The Christian’s ultimate allegiance is never in doubt. We will pay any price to honor it.
The Romans declared, “We have no God but Caesar.” The Christians fearlessly answered, “We have no Lord but Christ.”
They sealed their loyalty with their blood.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed for you and me - his church, his faithful followers. He did not ask his Father to take us out of this world. He could have. Instead, he asked that we remain in this world - as a salt and light influence; preserved and protected, untainted and uncompromised by the evil in this world.
Otherwise, we’d go immediately to heavenly glory upon our salvation. Which would be far easier and less complicated.
Instead, God wills us to stay here - in this present world, for such a time as this. Instead of bemoaning God’s will, we must celebrate it. How blessed you and I are to be living here - in this country, far from perfect, true, but still the greatest, freest and most wonderful nation on earth - in this tumultuous, uncertain, troubling and challenging twenty-first century.
What a glorious thing for God to trust us with this time and place. And for his great divine purpose for the duration of our earthly pilgrimage:
To exercise a stewardship of influence, to shine as the stars of heaven on a clear night amidst the darkness of this hour; to make a positive difference; to love and to care, not to yell, scream and hate.
To be gracious and kind, to be courageous and principled; to do and to serve; to help and to minister; to show the world the face of Christ, to be his hands and feet and - in the words of the ancient poet - to “tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.”
In Mere Christianity, CS Lewis wrote that Christians who thought the most of heaven did the most for God on earth. We must not “leave the present world as it is” but those “who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.”
Whoever is born of God, John writes, overcomes this world … “and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith” (I John 5:4).
Take heart, O Christian!
Take hope!
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