| “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
We live in a twisted society. It is perverted and twisted sexually. People no longer honor God’s plan for marriage. They no longer find fulfillment within the confines of “man and wife.” They indulge their lusts, they prize experimentation, and they treat sexual encounters as base bodily functions instead of honoring them as God-given gifts to prize. What once embarrassed and shamed us now does not faze us. What used to slink down back alleys, now struts in openness, and walks upon man’s hearts freely. May God have mercy on us all. May God have mercy on a people who do not blush or repent. This type of living produces a society that is twisted spiritually. We indulge in our wickedness long enough, and we eventually become anti-God. We glaze over the gospel good news – that Jesus’ blood really does cover our every sin. We step away from the truths of salvation, figuring we’re better off going it alone. We eye the Bible with foolhardy skepticism, finding it to be a book of fables and nothing more. We do our dead level best to get rid of God, even as our very nature cries out for Him. We waste away our days and lives, chasing counterfeit answers to God, but in the end, business and vain pleasures can do nothing to scratch the angry itch in our souls. The Lord Jesus said to His disciples on the side of a mountain, “You’re the salt of the earth.” God knows you’ll meet a lot of tasteless people, hear a lot of tasteless jokes, and see a lot of tasteless things, down here on planet Earth. But don’t lose heart. As you and I fulfill our mission to honor God with our lives, we’ll bring tastefulness back in style. One day this King will stop and step upon Earth and do away with that which defiles and decays. This earthly son of a commoner, Joseph the carpenter, raised his son in a two-bit town called Nazareth. And yet the Lord Jesus possessed more influence than any man who every walked this world. The Master empowers and shapes the lives of those who have an encounter with Him. We can be average Joes and Janes, and yet God lays His hand upon us and declares us fit to utterly change the world. The most powerful agent of change is Christ’s church, people committed to doing His will. |