The events of this past week have caused me much concern. Baltimore is ablaze with coordinated, premeditated hatred. Malicious immorality is defiantly demanding deference in the courts. The mountains, cities and villages of Nepal shake and shatter, and thousands are instantly buried in Christless graves.
We are living in a time in which God declares, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness” (Isa. 5:20).
“… and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). As we imbibe the vices of the day, we can too easily fall into confusion, professing that all things continue just as they always have and always will (II Pet. 3:4).
What concerns me most, however, is that by the time you read this, most of what transpired this week will seem like ancient history. The idolatry of entertainment and ever-increasing overexposure to evil is causing us to become comfortably numb. Indeed, our society is rapidly becoming immune to the heartbreak of sin and death.
But there is a solution! Instead of being absorbed into languid, defeatist fatalism, we can choose to be divinely disturbed and recognize that all is not right in the world. Being divinely disturbed requires that we actively fight against the drift towards Gomorrah in our own lives and in society. Being empowered by the Holy Spirit, we will follow the Biblical injunction, “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21).
You may lighten the darkness by advancing the cause of truth. Begin in your own life by starting each day with a serious recommitment to Jesus Christ and His Word. Carry the light into your own church and community. As the divine disturbance grows and deepens, you will be called to share with a wider audience. Do not succumb to the temptation to remain local. The truth of God and His Word will bring light and healing to the darkest places of earth, and you are called to share it with them!
Do not remain numb; be disturbed. And do something about it!
