This World is Falling Apart

Friday, June 26, I was in Sandusky, Ohio on vacation with my family. Shortly after lunch, I stood watching my sons ride an amusement park ride and I took my phone out to check Facebook to see what was going on. In my News Feed I began to see articles about the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage. I was a little surprised by the decision but what bothered me most is the fact I couldn't shake this uneasiness in my soul. The uneasiness lingered the rest of the day. To me it felt like our society had taken a tectonic shift in the wrong direction. Over the course of the next few days I saw and read many articles online about the decision and the ramifications it had on pastors, churches, and Christians in general. Some gave fresh perspectives to a difficult place we find ourselves in as a society and as members of the Body of Christ. But now having had some time to digest this major shift in our society I have some thoughts for Christians to consider.

Society's beliefs do not change God's truths.
God's standards of holiness and righteousness are not dictated by the whims of finite and fallible men. Society's affirmation of same-sex marriage in no way changes what God has stated to be true, that marriage is a holy institution between a man and a woman (Gen. 2:24). It would be like society affirming adultery, theft, or murder, all of which are explicitly forbidden by God (Exodus 20). Just because society says its okay, doesn't mean that it is.

Don't expect non-Christians to live like Christians.
One of the more surprising things through all of this has been how Christians have seemed to be shocked that non-Christians don't want to live by Christian values. How else would we expect them to live? If they have not been changed by the power of Christ's blood, we can't expect them to conform to His teachings. We must expect that the millions of non-Christians in our country today will not live by God's standards. It's our responsibility to show the light of Christ in this ever darkening world.

It will only get worse.
Another thing that surprises me through this ordeal our society is facing is the surprise Christians have as they see things declining. I've read through the Bible a few times and each time I see the same thing. It tells us that things are going to get bad before Jesus returns. This is just the one of many decisions our society has made that leads us downward spiritually and it's only going to get worse. On one hand it can be bothersome to know that things will continue to get worse. On the other hand it is reassuring to know that it means Jesus is that much closer to returning.

Your job is to speak the truth in love.
In Ephesians 4, Paul writes about the maturing faith of a believer. One thing he mentions is that they should speak the truth in love. As followers of Christ it is our responsibility to share the truths of God's Word to this dark, lost, and dying world. They need to hear that there is hope. They need to know that God loves them and wants a relationship with them. We must do that but not through condemnation and critical remarks about lifestyles and a lack of faith. Instead we do it by showing love and compassion. Just like the love and compassion God once showed us.

There is plenty that could be written on all of this but these are just a few observations from this pastor that I hope will help you as our society continues to change.


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