The craziness of this world has reached an all time high, don’t you agree?
I mean, just try and follow the world and national news: terrorists, refugees, the homeless, stock markets, winter storms, Trump, Clinton, France and Germany, Russia and Syria, Iran and Iraq, and of course, Israel.
Liberal, conservative, high society, dirt poor, black, white, and throw in a few other people groups, and you’ll have an idea of who all is involved in all this craziness.
Wars on many fronts and in many lands are being fought. But probably the greatest battle being waged is in the realm of words; ideas, world views, isms and dogmas.
People fighting people over such battles as patriotism, national security, the second amendment, the fourteenth amendment, and who’s really the best NFL quarterback – Tom Brady or Peyton Manning?
And my dear, sweet, American Christian brothers and sisters have entered the craziness of it all; but are we fighting the right battles?
Jude wrote some things a couple thousand years ago that should set us to thinking, and praying.
Unfortunately, it’s not exactly a popular message. Here’s a portion of it.
“Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.” (Jude 1:3 NLT)
Using just one little phrase from the unpopular message of Jude, I’d like to ask one simple question.
“Are we defending the faith that God has entrusted to us, or are we trying to defend our opinions and egos?”
In other words, how many wars are we going to fight that have no eternal consequence?
I won’t even attempt to say which battles you should or shouldn’t be waging, other than to remind us all of the warning Jude laid down in his unpopular letter.
“Are we defending the faith?”
Why would Jude write something like that? Was he just trying to stir up the good folks of that day?
He explains the reason for his unpopular prose.
“I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Jude 1:4 NLT)
While the early Christians busied themselves with all the craziness of their day, ungodly people wormed their way into places of leadership within the church, and not only began diluting the once powerful gospel but also denied the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ.
And that is happening today…
…while we wage our battles; important but petty in comparison to the timeless message of the cross, the tomb, and the resurrection.
Should we ignore all that’s happening in this crazy world. I don’t believe so. But we should filter our actions and reactions to today’s headlines through the faith we’ve embraced and heralded.
If Jesus Christ is Lord, and God is STILL on the Throne, how does that affect what I think, how I vote, and where I spend my time and money?
If Heaven is real and eternal life is more than a fairytale, does it change what I post on Facebook?
If it’s really true that the unrighteous DO NOT inherit eternity in heaven, why do I talk as I do at work?
What battles am I involved in? Any of significance?
Or am I treating the message of Jesus as if it’s not as important as, say, fantasy football?
The unpopular message of Jude needs to be shared today.
So why not be the one to share it?
Jan Grace 