The Question No One Want's To Answer
I have a whole constellation of words flickering through my mind—dancing like the Northern Lights: dystopia-anxiety, eco-anxiety, Weltschmerz, mal du siècle, prolepse hystérique. And perhaps they can all be gathered under one new word: Anthropoklysis—the fear of humanity steering itself toward collapse.
I once lived in what was openly a Christian nation—the United Kingdom. Now it feels as though the day is coming when simply being a Christian will be treated as a crime. Brick by brick, the cultural foundations are shifting, and each shift seems to lean away from anything that affirms Christianity. The devil, as always, is in the details.
Let me frame a paradox.
There’s a moment in the Gospel—Matthew 19:15-18—where a young man approaches Jesus:
Young Man: “Teacher, what good deed can I do to assure myself eternal life?”
Jesus: “Strange that you ask Me about what is good. There is only One who is good. If you want to share in His life, obey the Commandments.”
Young Man: “Which commandments in particular?”
Jesus: “To begin with—do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness. Honour your father and mother. And love your neighbour as yourself.”
Now pause and look at your own life. Has anyone in your family ever been the victim of violence—murder, assault, rape, grooming? Have you ever felt the quiet violation of knowing other men imagine your wife or daughter in ways they never should, or other women looking at your husband in a similar way? Has your phone been stolen, your wallet taken, your home broken into? victimised by slander? As a parent, have your adult children lost their respect for you—maybe they never call, or perhaps you haven’t heard from them for years?
Go back and read Jesus’ conversation with that young man who simply wanted to be better.
Then ask the paradoxical question:
Why would governments, lawmakers, and the public ever want to oppose the very people who cherish these commands—people who long to live by laws that forbid murder, theft, adultery, lies, and dishonour?
Go ponder.
Scripture courtesy of The Voice Bible
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
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