"On Why Things Are The Way They Are"

It is the unthinkable. How can anyone wrap their mind around the headlines in the newspaper and on television that a 12-year-old boy has stabbed a blind 92-year-old woman to death in her home?

If my mother was still alive, her assessment would be, “What is this world coming to?”--a correct one at that.  Witnessing the current degradation of society and culture, I often find myself thankful she isn’t here to watch it take place.

A family member texted me this morning: “I’m having a hard time with our world right now.”  She is an educator, and the boy charged with the crime is an ex-student, “a sweet but troubled young boy who often popped into my office to chat…what makes a 12 year old murder?”

Change has always taken place from one generation to the next. A breakdown of mores and traditional values, however, is creating drastic changes never before seen in our country, where black is called white, day is called night, right is called wrong, and truth is called lie. 

Young and old alike, including many in positions of power, have no regard or respect for God, authority, or the law. God has either been watered down to an obscure, abstract notion so He is palatable or vaporized out of existence, not to be considered in the scheme of things. Faith and belief in God is viewed as a weakness, for the simple-minded; morality is scoffed at by many, the value of an individual’s life, personal rights, and opinions is superseded by the demands of the masses. A common attitude is that the end justifies the means, whether it’s in government, business, or everyday life. It’s as though a huge tsunami is sweeping across not only our nation but the world.

We are a divided nation, each side repeating the same words yet coming from polar opposites in actual ideology—“We have to stand for what is right; I will take a stand; I want them all locked up; We are not a bunch of sheep; I am not a follower." The two sides cannot and will not come together--they are oil and water. It is a somber situation as a house divided against itself cannot stand.

Viewing the state of things in the spiritual is the only way any of it makes any sense. 

Christ was sitting on the Mount of Olives, and his disciples came to him privately asking for a sign of His coming and of the end of the age. He spoke of the very things happening around us today. "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold." Matthew 24:6, 7, 10-12

The resurrected Christ is coming back again. How and when that is going to happen I have no idea, but stark indicators of His return and the end of this age are all around us, not to be ignored. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." Matthew 24:35 

What makes a 12-year-old murder? When lawlessness takes over and love has grown cold, when there is no conscience, the unthinkable takes place. It is a sign of the time Christ spoke of.

                                                                                                                                   

Put your seat belts on, boys and girls and buckle up. Those of faith have been asked to watch, to be ready, to endure to the end. Oh, yes--and read the whole of Matthew 24.

All things are spiritual. And this is why I believe things are the way they are.

"Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on

what day your Lord is coming."  

Matthew 24:4