Guest post from Neil Glass.
Do you feel that you are surrounded by a world that has abandoned all sense of decency and morality? It is not merely a lack of education for at the highest levels of corporate America top executives are enriching themselves by obscene salaries and bonuses and disregarding laws to misguide investors and federal agencies without a sense of personal guilt.
The sense of Biblical morality that once existed between men and women, young and old, has been ignored and unrestrained adultery and sexual abandonment has become flagrant and is even exalted as a way of life.
Violence has become epidemic. Assaults, killings and rape are constantly on the front pages of our newspapers, and movies and television feed the problem with provocative programs that incite even more abuse. Pornography has become a national disgrace. Innocent children are abducted, molested and slain while broken hearted families grieve.
The structure of the family is being ripped apart. Couples live together without marriage, commitment or responsibility. Children are neglected and mistreated and grow up to repeat the terrible errors of the generation before them.
At every level of society there has been a loss of integrity, Truthfulness has become a victim to “what’s in it for me”? Common courtesy has become “uncommon courtesy”. On our highways “road rage” erupts into collisions, shootings and personal attacks.
Drugs, alcohol abuse and gambling have become addictions that prove to be empty havens for those fleeing empty lives and seeking to fill them with “fixes” that do not fix.
We all can recall scores of other avenues of sinful lifestyles that leads to broken homes and hearts and poverty in life and soul. How then should the Christian respond to the darkness we see in this world around us?
An answer to this question was presented during World War 2. Elements of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne was rushed to the little town of Bastogne which had been encircled by the German Army during the “Battle of the Bulge” As reported in the book, by Stephen Ambrose ,”A Band of Brothers”, a shaken soldier ran to his superior officer and said with fear. “Captain we’re surrounded”. The Captain courageously responded, “We’re supposed to be surrounded,…we’re paratroopers.”
When we look with dismay at our world where too often God is ignored and the teaching of Scripture is felt to be irrelevant, we can rightly paraphrase the statement of that paratrooper officer, “We’re supposed to be surrounded, and we’re Christians.”
When by Gods’ grace we became Christians, God did not take us to our eternal home. We were left here to be lights in this dark world, a world that desperately needs the love and hope to be found in Jesus Christ, He himself said, “I am the light of the world.” We are charged to stand surrounded by a broken world and as Matthew 5:16 exhorts us, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in Heaven.”
We’re supposed to be surrounded, we’re Christians Thank God.
How do you feel “surrounded” by the world? And how do you react?
