Sabbath Reflection – The Darkness is passing away…

It is a sad fact that bad news sells, while good news bores.  To be certain, there seemingly is an endless stream of bad news all around us: world economies are teetering on collapse; the USA/Iran conflict, the Russian war on Ukraine has no end in sight; China is poised to forcibly bring Taiwan under their control; the Israel/Hamas conflict has taken many lives; famine is growing in Africa (in no small result of the war in Ukraine); centuries old contentions continue to roil under the surface between nations; and more.

Here in America, we are faced with our own bad news.  I already mentioned the war/conflict with Iran that has taken many lives, cost billions of dollars and has caused oil prices to soar. Violence is increasing on many fronts.  Civility in any public discourse is disappearing.  Our political leaders are entrenched in polar opposite positions and unwilling to find any common ground.  The family structure is failing through divorce, bad parenting, and materialism.  Gun violence is at an all-time high, but civil punishment for crime is at an all-time low.  America certainly has its problems, but the desire to push God out of our nation, families and personal lives (started in earnest in the 1960s) is at the core of all of these problems.  God is turning His back on this nation, because this nation has turned its back on Him.

Where does that leave us – His people living in a corrupt world?  Like Israel suffering with Egypt in the first three plagues God brought on that land, we suffer along with the world.  We are to come out of this world (Revelation 18:4) but yet we are still in this world (1 John 4:17b).

We do have hope and comfort even in a violent, angry and rebellious world.  In 1 John 4 we have several statements we can take solace in.  In verse 4 we are reminded that we are of God – we can overcome the evil spirits of this world because Christ is greater than all of them.  Because we are of God (verse 6), He hears our prayers.  We can know and see of His hand in our lives.  Because of these things, we are to love one another (verse 7) so we can know God even more.  Love is a precious commodity in this world, and we will certainly stand out in a world of hate and anger.  We have God’s love in us, we can live through Christ (verse 9).  We know that our sins are forgiven through the perfect sacrifice of His Son, and as a consequence we can live in Him (verse 12-13).  All of this is not just for us.  The Father sent His Son to be the Savior of all of mankind (verse 13b)!

Rather than living in fear of what happens around us in the world, we can have boldness when we stand before God (verse 17) and are judged for salvation, because as Christ is, so are we!  We are not to have fear, but rather can have the power of God, His love and His sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

There is also a saying that “the night is darkest just before the dawn”.  God’s hand is not shortened (Isaiah 59:1) that He cannot save mankind.  He will send His Son to restore all things (Acts 3:21).  The Light is coming soon.  Let us walk out of the darkness of this world into the light He has called us to (1 Peter 2:9).  The chaos we see in the world around us will only get worse.  As this nation, and even the rest of the world, removes God more and more from their lives, the bad news will grow into the time of Tribulation.  In the midst of all of that chaos, God is working out His purpose of bringing many children to His glory (Hebrews 2:10).

When Christ returns, He will work with mankind to change the way they think so the problems we see can be addressed at their core.  He is already doing that with us – His Bride.  “…the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining,” (1 John 2:8b).

I wish you a very meaningful Sabbath,

Joe Greene

Joe Greene 

Pastor for Richmond and Roanoke, Va

(434) 808-2146