Articles - Bulletin
Faith In A Dark Place
I’ve come to realize that so much of faith is driven by and affected by perspective. That’s a pretty broad statement when you think about it as it applies to so much. But what about our perspective on this world and us living in it?
A Dark History
In the beginning the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep but then in Genesis 1:3-4 it says “And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw that light was good and God separated the light from the darkness.”
The world that God created was good, perfect, right in His eyes. Man was living in a perfect, holy, and righteous relationship with God. But then in Genesis 3 we know that Satan comes and deceives Eve and Adam willfully disobeys God and sin entered into this world bring with is death (Rom. 5:12-14).
Fast forward to Genesis 6 when God would destroy the entire world with a flood because of how evil it had become. In Genesis 11 God would disperse and confuse the peoples as they sought to build a tower to heaven. In Genesis 19 the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah would be destroyed because they were so evil.
As you continue reading through the old testament you continue to read accounts of lying, stealing, murder, rape, betrayal, wars, slavery…no name it you can find it. Even sadder the majority of those things are recorded as acts among God’s people.
Even in the New Testament during the days of Christ you read of the Roman empire. While the Roman empire was one of the greatest empires to ever rule in terms of military power and might it became very corrupt as well. We know from history what Nero was like and it was under his reign that Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:17 – “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”
Nothing New Under the Sun
The point I’m trying to make is that since sin entered into this world it has been under the power of the evil one and has been and still is a dark place. Saying all of this isn’t meant to depress us and cause us to be in fear but rather keep the right perspective in mind.
The “words of the preacher” says “What has been is what will be, and what has been done will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecc. 1:9) I know that we hear people reference this on occasion but I wonder if we really believe it? Why is it that we hear brethren say things like “the world today is getting so dark and evil” or “the need for the gospel is needed now more than ever” or “the church today is facing things it hasn’t before”?
Our immediate and personal perspective sometimes clouds our spiritual perspective in that we see so much of the here and now that we lose sight of the bigger picture. The reality is that while things are seemingly getting worse they’ve never been good according to God’s standards. The church today isn’t facing anything that it hasn’t been facing since its establishment in Acts 2.
I do realize that there are things that 50 years ago weren’t talked about much less encouraged in this world and in this country. There are crimes and tragedies being committed it seems more frequently. There is the ever present daily reminder that this world is a sinful dark place and is quickly passing away.
But as a child of God I need not be overwhelmed with those things and the anxiety and worry it produces because as we sing, “this world is not my home.” I know that our God is in control and will do what is right. Whether we leave this earth in death or by Jesus’s coming we can have a true peace and hope that being in our God’s presence there will be brilliant light beyond comparison and darkness no more.
--E
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