“Things are Bad…”

Covid. Political in-fighting. Afghanistan. Gaza. Inflation. Supply chain disruption. Opioid addiction. The mental health crisis.  Porn. Shootings.  Stabbings.  Domestic violence.  Trafficking.  Detroit Lions, 0-7.  Things are bad.  In spite of our many technological advancements and creature comforts, the overall state of humans is still failing.  We may live more years but we’re still going to die.  We have indoor plumbing and refrigerated food and information at our fingertips but people still fight, hate and isolate.  The church has been an advocate for education for many years but we do not believe that education is the final solution.  The church has been at the forefront of medical treatment and health-care but we do not believe that death will ever be averted.  We’ve heard again and again since March 2020 that “together we can beat Covid.”  Cooperation would sure help but we need more than human ingenuity and unity to overcome this health crisis.  Like everything else we face in this broken world, we need Divine Intervention.  This world is subject to frustration and has been ever since the first man and woman decided to give life a try without God.  We’ve been in one form of a mess or another for thousands of years.  Our short-term confidence may be in science, government and human cooperation but one would be a fool to have long-term hope in any human effort to bring Heaven to earth.  The badness of this world is another common theme in the pastoral letters.  However, the badness is only a backdrop to the Intervention.  You do not need to be a pessimist.  By faith, you can be a Divine optimist.  We have a blessed hope!  We’ll look at it Sunday—unless He comes first.  😊