The small puppy that they got their daughter for her birthday, “To teach her responsibility,” they said, that now resides in the backyard in a cage, fortunate to receive food and water more than once or twice a week, living in its own filth. The kitten the neighbors thought was so cute, until it turned into a cat, and then was let out the door to fend for itself. The cute little rabbit that they just had to have, dying in that cage for lack of food, it, as most everything else in their lives, only relevant and meaningful for a very short time.
The young girl who rushes out the door each morning, but walks with little intent slowly back home, desiring to be a part of every after school activity, because at home her father will want to touch her again, her mother will do nothing for fear of the talk around town. Why don’t you stop here for a moment my friends, set this letter aside for a few minutes and think about, truly contemplate the evil of this world, the depravity, the sin in it, and try to balance it with what many attempt to call the “good things” of life. You know, the ones most commercials try to tell us about compared to the ones that are reality.
That dog you saw the other day, the one limping badly in the alley, dying of starvation, how many do you think there are just like it around the planet, how many children were raped and abused today, how many wives were beaten, how much was stolen, lied about, why does your neighbor’s front yard look great, but the back yard is full of trash and neglect. Every one of you reading this knows these are truths, this is the way of man, sin and depravity, lust and ambition, drive and recognition. “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen. 6:5)
You can go ahead and save that dog, but how many can your house hold, you can do something about those children that are being abused, but how many blocks down the street do you need to go to find the next ones. This earth is an evil, vile, cursed place (Gen. 3:17) and not one person who has claimed Jesus Christ as Lord should ever see it as anything but that. You may look at the wide expanse of ocean, the mountains and sky, if you can get past the pollution, and see it as the handiwork of God, but it also is diminished because of sin, what we see in nature we see under the curse, we cannot begin to comprehend what it was like before the fall of Adam. Just how much sin can one man handle, how much can you bear to see and hear.
You may claim the created beast of the field if you like as a testimony of His wonderous ways, and well you should, but do not deceive yourself, the lion was not intended to kill and eat, but to lay down with the lamb. (Isaiah 11:6) All of us, everything, everyone on this planet is under a curse from Almighty God, no one can live comfortably under this curse, we were not intended to, we should never expect anything but pain of soul and body on this planet, those who will not, or refuse to if you like, are attempting to hide from these truths, they look only at what they consider the “good” parts, for to face these truths would be more than depressing to them, the challenge of the truth is almost always fought against by man.
Man in general long ago left sanity behind, “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:22) The way that seems right to them, the continuing maintenance of the planet, the pulling together while staying six feet apart, the fervent desire to seek anywhere and everywhere except to Almighty God is the way they have chosen, and that way will lead to death. (Prov. 14:12) Look around you today, point out something or someone who is noble, try to show to yourself someone with continuing virtue, find something, anything on this entire planet that has not been touched by sin, that is not under a curse. “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” (Prov. 8:13)
The born-again believer has been saved by grace through faith, we are saints who still sin, though less frequently, for even the smallest infraction against our Lord grieves us now, yet are we sinning less by commission, but more by omission? How many dogs and cats can you save, how many children can you pull from the fire, can you ever be satisfied here. If you have become comfortable here in this life, on this earth, then you will find little comfort in the kingdom of heaven.
This is a terrible place, it is vile, evil, and corrupt, and although you may like to think there is good in it, even our Lord said, “Why callest thou me good, there is none good but one, that is, God.” (Matt. 19:17) These truths bring with them a life of frustration, of the hatred of evil, of a desire to live only for Christ, for to die will be gain. (Phil. 1:21) Look all you want, seek diligently for hope, peace, and security outside of Christ, but I can tell you right now you will not find it. So what are we to do? Occupy, obey, submit, when you are told by our Lord to do something, do it, when you are told to stand down, stand down. Live each day in the hope of His return, live each day as if it is your last, and whether you can understand this yet or not, believe it to be the truth, hope that today is your last day, for it will be your first day then in His presence. Fight the good fight my friends, (1 Tim. 6:12) do not grow weary in the work, (Gal. 6:9) it’s almost over, then you can find rest in your labors.
