2016--Obstacles or Opportunities?

“But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. "Let's go at once to take the land," he said. "We can certainly conquer it!" But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. "We can't go up against them! They are stronger than we are!" Numbers 13:30-31

Last Sunday, our pastor’s message was about the twelve spies that were sent by Moses to check out the promised land. Ten came back with a negative report. Even though God had promised to give them the land, all they could see were the giants. Two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, had a positive report. The land was, indeed, a land of milk and honey and God had told them to go in and take it. The question the pastor asked was this: “How would we view the year ahead of us--as one filled with obstacles or opportunities?”

As I considered his message, I started thinking about the condition of America today. Our society is embracing a new set of values that have nothing to do with Christianity. If you are a Christ Follower, you are shocked and saddened by what has happened to our culture. The Biblical values upon which our country was founded are now despised and rejected. In many cases, we are despised as well. What will our response be? Just like the spies who checked out the promised land, we have a choice in how we view this time in history. We can be overwhelmed by the obstacles facing us--moral decline, ridicule, discrimination, even persecution. We can withdraw from society and form a “holy huddle” to protect ourselves, or we can be like Caleb and Joshua and see this time in history as an opportunity. The more our society turns away from its traditional values, the more we stand out as Believers in the One True God. No longer able to blend in to our society, we can show people what it means to live for Jesus. We can live holy lives, we can love our enemies, we can demonstrate to all that our God is worthy of the greatest sacrifice. Did we ever imagine a day in America where people would be shot for confessing Christ? That day is here, and the time is near for Christ's return. As our country grows darker and darker, we have the opportunity to let our light shine brighter and brighter to those who are perishing. Isn’t that really what our life is supposed to be about?