For Such A Time

In the midst of crises, God has always had His faithful few. And He calls them to stand. The Esthers, the Daniels, the Josephs.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. And we are living in desperate times. If you don’t believe that, just take a look at the chaotic, messed-up world you live in filled with broken, desperate people. 

From generation to generation we plod on. The cycle: You’re born. Grow up. Try to become someone in this world, or, at the minimum, try to survive. Finally retirement. And then? It’s all gone. A vapour. And to the vast majority, not even forgotten, for they never knew you.

And so a probing question. Is this really what you want? No, really. Do you just want to be another generation in the vast span of years…or do you want to be the ones to see the end of this meaningless round, the end of suffering and woe?

For generations we have battled. We have failed. We have been slaves of sin. And if we continue in the same path, we can with certainty expect the same results. How much longer will we linger to enjoy hollow, imagined pleasures that only leave you empty? What will it take for us to be fitted the society of Heaven?

A radical change, to be sure. No doubt more radical than what I can think of right now. If we want to leave this world, we had better be heading in that direction. In every facet of our lives will be affected. How we dress. What we eat. What we listen to. What we watch. Who we hang out with. What we spend our time on. What occupies our thoughts.

Yes, it is radical. You will look different. You will stand out like a sore thumb. But look at the alternative. Your life will amount to nothing more than a selfish existence, for even our best deeds are selfish if we are not transformed by the Spirit of Christ. It will be but a pile of chaff, or as the Bible says without any attempt to euphemize, a hill of dung. You are lost, and all memory of you soon follows.

The call is for a complete, entire surrender. Maybe we have used these words so often that we have lost their true meaning. But they remain unchanged. You are not your own. You never have been. You only end slavery to Satan by becoming a slave of God.

Yes, the narrow path is by no means an easy one. When Christ Himself suffered, how can we expect a bed of roses? Yet it will be worth it. Infinitely worth it.

The question stands: Will we be the generation?