Friday, May 29, 2020

Lord, Open My Eyes!

 

“Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. . . O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.”

2 Kings 6:16, 17 (ESV)


            The COVID-19 pandemic has struck fear in the hearts of a lot of people.  There are those who are fearful of the financial and economic repercussions that the lockdown has brought about.  For them, there seems to be no relief in sight for their financial woes.  Then there are those who are afraid of being infected by the disease for which there is no vaccine available as of the moment. 


            But even without this disease, we are prone to becoming fearful.  We fear for our present situation.  We fear about the future.  We fear for our safety.  We are anxious about the performance of our stock portfolio.  This is because our hopes have been misplaced in things that are uncertain. 


            Elisha's servant was afraid for his life when he saw the army of the King of Syria surrounding the city of Dothan.  From a numerical standpoint, he knew that Israel would be no match for the Syrians.  If Syria succeeded in conquering the city, it would signal the end of his life as well as that of his master and of all the residents of the city.  It seemed to be a dark and ominous certainty than just being a mere possibility.  Yet, we find his master, the prophet Elisha, calm and unperturbed by the presence of the Syrian army.  As it was early in the morning, Elisha may have been enjoying his breakfast while watching the massive swarm of soldiers readying themselves to attack the city and to capture him.


            Why was Elisha calm even though there was a great reason to fear?  It was because he recognized an important spiritual truth, that those who were on his side were much more than those who oppose him.  Elisha was referring to the presence of the LORD and His massive and far superior army of angelic beings.  This servant may have been unconvinced by Elisha's answer; thus, Elisha prayed that the LORD would open his eyes.  Then, the servant saw for himself that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha (2 Kings 6:17).  God was protecting Elisha as well as the city of Dothan.  There was indeed nothing to be fearful about.


            God's presence with His people during this time of crisis should ease our fears.  God has not abandoned us; He continues to be with us to comfort, to strengthen, to embolden us.  He will protect us.  We need only to trust that God is able and is willing to protect us.  We need to stop trembling in fear and to start praising the LORD for His presence and protection; choose to believe that the LORD is on the side of those who acknowledge and fear Him.  If God is for us, who can stand against us (Romans 8:31)?

Let Your Light Shine!


Matthew 5:16 (ESV)

… Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.


An article entitled “Atheists in Praise of Christianity?” was published on May 19, 2020 by a website called www.stream.org. In the article, author Jonathan Van Maren wrote on how a growing number of atheists are acknowledging that Christianity was responsible for transforming the world. He cited the book of historian Tom Holland (not to be mistaken with the Spiderman actor!), Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, wherein Holland makes a historical defense of Christianity. Holland cited how Christianity changed the world for the better such as the teachings on sex and marriage, and on the elevation of the status of women as being equal with men. Holland would point out that without Christianity, the world would not have perceived the wrongfulness of social injustice.


Holland is not the sole atheist defending Christianity. Others mentioned in the article included Douglas Murray who believes that the decline of Christianity has led to the rejection of the sanctity of human life. Even the most outspoken atheist of our generation, Richard Dawkins, has admitted that Christianity has good effects on society. Psychologist Jordan Peterson wrote that without Christianity, cruelty is inevitable. While these scholars will not go so far as to say that Christianity is true, they are starting to believe that Christianity is necessary.


While the Christian faith can be defended rationally like what the late Rev. Ravi Zacharias was famously known for, what seems to speak loudest to people who are outside of the Faith are not the carefully crafted defense of the Christian faith, though they are needed. Instead, what spoke loudly and clearly to people, even to the scholastic atheists, is that the way the early Christians took their faith seriously and lived it out carefully has radically affected the world in a positive way.


Ravi Zacharias said, “We are living in a generation that listens with its eyes and thinks with its feelings. If they cannot see the gospel in you and me they will not feel the persuasion of what you and I are trying to present to them.” The truth is important, but if we don’t live out the truth, then who is going to believe our message?


It is no wonder that our Lord Jesus commanded us to let our light shine before others so that others may see our good works. It is when people see the consistency of our life with our words that they will be attracted to the Christian faith. It is when we faithfully obey God’s Word, as seen in our actions and in how we treat others, that people will then give us a fair hearing as to what we have to say regarding our Lord Jesus.


Do people know that you are a Christ-follower when they see how you live your life? How you treat others well? Are your words truthful yet loving? Do they know that you stand for the truth and for justice even in small ways? Our faithfulness to Christ as seen in our way of living speaks loudly; even atheists and agnostics are paying attention. Live for Jesus every day. Do good to others. Then declare why you live in such a manner – that it is all about Jesus.



(for those interested in the article, this is the link: https://stream.org/atheists-in-praise-of-christianity/)