We Sure Could Use a Little Good News Today!
A commentary by Larry J. Walker
United Church of God Pastor, Bend, Medford, Roseburg, Oregon
Listening to today's news, I couldn't help but recall the
lyrics to one of Anne Murray's hit songs. It topped the charts
in 1983.
I rolled out this morning. The kids had the morning news show on.
Bryant
Gumbel was talking about the fighting in Lebanon.
Some senator was squawking about the bad economy.
It's gonna get worse
you see, we need a change in policy.
There's a local paper rolled up in a rubber band.
One more sad story's
one more than I can stand.
I mused on how ironically sad and tragic most of these lyrics are.
They're just as timely today as they were nearly a quarter century
ago when this song first came out.
Of course, there is always some politician "squawking about the
bad economy," especially prior to an election year. But the widespread
political unrest and the present military conflict in the Middle East
are still major factors in the economy because they still impact the
price of oil from this major oil-producing area.
The song later laments,
I'll come home this evening. I'll bet that the news will be the same.
Somebody takes a hostage, somebody steals a plane.
Airline hijacking is not in the news as often as it was when the song
was written because that problem took on a whole new meaning after the
9/11 terrorist attacks. But a military crisis in Lebanon is still with
us.
The lyrics continue,
Just once how I'd like to see the headline say,
'Not much to print
today, can't find nothin' bad to say,
Because nobody robbed a liquor
store on the lower part of town.
Nobody OD'ed, nobody burned a single
building down.
Nobody fired a shot in anger, nobody had to die in vain.'
How I want to
hear the anchor man talk about a county fair,
And how we cleaned up the
air, how everybody learned to care.
Oh, tell me nobody was assassinated
in the whole Third World today,
And in the streets of Ireland, all the
children had to do was play,
And everybody loves everybody in the good
old USA.
As the refrain suggests, "We sure could use a little good news
today."
The Bible explains why we have so much bad news and offers us good news!
In fact, the word "gospel" means "good news." That
is the main purpose of the biblical message.
Many think the message of the gospel is only that Jesus Christ died
for our sins. This is certainly good news! But as important as this truth
is, it is only part of the larger scope of what the Bible calls "the
gospel of the kingdom of God" (Mark 1:14). That "good news" message
offers solutions to war, crime, environmental pollution and other national
and international problems that result from sin.
The gospel of the kingdom of God promises a thousand year period of
restoration under the righteous rule of Jesus Christ. In fact, Bible
prophecy promises the very good news that Anne Murray's song yearns for.
Notice how God inspired Isaiah to prophesy of this future time.
"Many people shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the
mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach
us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go
forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isaiah
2:3).
"And he will be the judge between the nations, and the peoples
will be ruled by his decisions: and their swords will be turned into
plough-blades, and their spears into vine-knives: no longer will the
nations be turning their swords against one another, and the knowledge
of war will be gone for ever" (Isaiah 2:4, Bible in Basic English)
"They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for
the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover
the sea" (Isaiah 11:9).
Another prophecy promises, "The streets of the city ( Jerusalem,
and eventually all cities) shall be full of boys and girls playing in
its streets" (Zechariah 8:5).
Yes, we sure could use a little good news today!
Good news is what this Web site is all about. We present solutions
to today's problems as revealed in the Holy Scriptures.
 For more details about God's
plans to bring us an abundance of good news through Jesus Christ in His
coming kingdom, be sure to request or download your personal copy of
our free booklet, The Gospel of the Kingdom.
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