DROWNING IN ISSUES!!!! WHO/WHAT to believe?!?!?!?!?
Wow, these are super confusing times we’re living in…so many complex issues before us, which seem to be increasing by the day! Even things we THOUGHT we had already sorted out like GENDERS and THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH are now resurfacing for reconsideration.
There are tons of really important things calling out for solutions, and at times It gets so overwhelming…WHAT DO WE DO???:
IGNORE EVERYTHING, turn it all off, “eat drink and party, for tomorrow we shall die…”
OR, FACE EACH ISSUE conscientiously and decide together what’s the right thing to do, and then do it??
A BIG PART OF THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE that: Everybody knows what to do, and has the answers — there are so many experts who all think they’re right.
BUT they don’t all agree: So who do we believe? Who actually has the answers to these complex problems???
I want to tell you a thought I recently had which helped me to begin putting these complex issues into perspective, and gave me some insight into where to begin:
JESUS IS COMING BACK … AND BRINGING ANSWERS AND SOLUTIONS WITH HIM — so those solutions actually already exist, it’s not all hopeless, maybe we can tap into that wisdom now and not just wait until then.
According to the Jewish bible, the Muslim Koran and Christian interpretations of scripture, someone very much like Jesus of Nazareth is coming back at some point in our history.
It seems from what these Holy books teach, that when He returns, He’s not just gonna wave his hand and fix everything that’s wrong. It’s going to be a process, not a miraculous overnight transformation. IT’S GOING TO BE ALL OF US WORKING TOGETHER WITH HIM THAT’LL BEGIN TO TURN THINGS AROUND.
So assuming that’s all gonna happen, & that He indeed sets up that new world government where LOVE will reign, with PEACE ON EARTH and brotherhood of Man — maybe we should consider now:
What will He KEEP and what will He DISCARD from our current policies and decisions? Which of these programs will make it into the next era of human history? And which of these solutions that we have settled throughout history or are coming up with now will He look at and say, ‘That’s a good policy…IT’S WORKED WELL; Let’s keep that…”
We HAVE learned a lot throughout human history and gotten a pretty good idea of what has worked well and what hasn’t, as well as the why, or why not. And I think we also all know what we want our New World to be like:
Who doesn’t want PEACE ON EARTH?? -No more wars.
LOVING INTERACTION between humans across the globe, AKA tolerance and understanding.
An END TO HUMAN SUFFERING & INJUSTICE in all its forms, everywhere.
A total reversal of the destruction of our planet ecologically.
Humane treatment of animals as well as humans,
and just generally Peace on Earth, good will among men.
Sad to say as much as we all say we want it, we tend to vote with our feet in opposite directions. We agree we want things to change, but we don’t want to change ourselves. We often won’t apply principals that could work when it means us personally sacrificing, so it’s just not happening in our world.
I think I’ve mentioned before, we could probably begin solving ALL the world’s problems right now, today, just by keeping the TWO COMMANDMENTS Jesus boiled everything down to when He was here with us:
Love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and …
Love your neighbor as yourself, treating him like you want to be treated.
Simple in theory, nearly impossible in application.
I imagine that the first policies He will implement as Ruler of the world, will most likely be those two laws, and that He will base his new government policies on exactly those principals.
And I foresee that that in itself will turn our world upside down and create points of contention from day one.
I mean for starters, people don’t necessarily WANT to love God, with all their heart, soul and mind, much less their neighbors.
As bad as things are, none of us really want to relinquish our right to decide, to choose … we want our say, and ‘our will be done’
So, what does He have in mind? When He comes will we all have to forfeit our right to vote, for example? Is Jesus gonna come and start barking orders at everyone, dictating how things should or shouldn’t be done?
Will it be total THEOCRACY, with Him and His team ruling everything, making all of the decisions? Or will there be some DEMOCRACY involved? — Will we still be allowed to decide, to choose some aspects of our new reality?
If we look at His first coming, when He was with us, He didn’t seem to work like that then — So is it really gonna be so different when He actually has the power and the glory, literally?
I guess we’ll see when that happens — but it encourages me that if it will somehow all work out then, then it can work now. Maybe looking beyond today and our present situation can help us have hope and see how to manage things we’re currently facing.
One thing for sure, we are loved, and God wants what’s best for us, He’s proven His faithfulness historically, if you ask me — but that’s another issue for another day!