I sit on the couch scrolling aimlessly through the calendar on my phone. 1965 rolls by. 1900, 1888, 1844 fly by. Then come 1715, 1640, 1492, and the dark ages. I think to myself of the many Christians who died during those Dark Ages. They held fast to their faith and would not let it go. Then Christopher Columbus discovered the new world, thus providing a place of escape for those persecuted for their faith. Soon the Mayflower sailed from England for the New World, as it was then known, and the pilgrims found a home. The Bible founded its way deep into the roots of American history and values, and as time passed the colony became a nation.
The French Revolution rocked Europe with a new philosophy, a reasoning of life without God. A 10 day week was adopted to obliterate everything having any remote connection to God or a Creator. In this ‘new beginning’ of godlessness there was much blood shed, much heartache, much sadness. But their leaders held that this was the way the world should be. These new ideas rocked Christian Europe and the rest of the world.
Yet today we find a drastically different landscape, and yet it’s the same. It’s the same as it was in the 1700s. There are those who profess Christianity and there are those who profess godlessness. It has taken a whole new form that is different from the form in the 1700s. Today we have modernism, yes even postmodernism, and this has changed the way that multitudes view the world.
And yet… What’s the purpose? Why are we here? What is the ultimate reason for our existence. Godlessness has no answer. It provides no assurance of any purpose for one’s life. It provides no reason for existence. It gives no answers to these questions. What is Christ’s answer? He has made us for a grand purpose! He has created us and placed us on this globe for an incredible reason! He wants to use us to manifest his character to a fallen world, and yes, even to all the un-fallen universes out there. He wants to use us as lights to shine, no, not in the lightest places of the world, no! He wants to use us to light the darkest places of the globe, those places where the Light has never pierced. He has called us to this purpose in the very last words He spoke on this earth. You can find them in Matt 28.
I scroll forward. 2015, 2018, 2025, 2035, 2050, 2070… What does the future hold? When will Christ’s coming in glory be? Jesus himself said that no one knows the day or the hour of this grand event. What will the future hold? Will we as the people of God rise up and do the work that He has given us? Will we manifest his character to this fallen world? Will we vindicate His name before the onlooking universes? Will we sit in silence waiting for someone else to act? Will we wait to follow someone else? What if no one else goes? What will we do?
These are sobering questions. These are questions that it’s our turn to answer. God is calling us to action. He is asking us these questions today. He wants our heart and our affections and our all. I want to propose to you today that the future lies in our hands. The future of this world lies in the hands of God’s people. We can either get up and act and do what He has commanded, saving lost souls and hastening His coming, or we can sit back in silence and comfort, admitting by action that God’s command isn’t important, and millions of souls will be lost as a terrible result. The future lies in your hands. Will you hasten the coming of the King?
