Chaos in Our Land
"…we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom. We grope for the wall like the blind; we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among those in full vigor we are like dead men. We all growl like bears; we moan and moan like doves; we hope for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities: transgressing, and denying the LORD, and turning back from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words. Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey."
(Isa 59:9-15, ESV)
As I read this during my quiet time with the Lord, I could not help but notice the significance this has for our day and age. In the wake of one tragedy after another I see our country focusing only on what is apparent on the surface and not on the big picture. The tragedies in Orlando, Florida and then in Dallas, Texas are symptoms of something much worse going on deep in the hearts and minds of far too many people. On the surface it seems obvious, that there is a lack of love and love of one’s neighbor in our land. Underneath it all however, we are witness to a society and culture who are repulsed by absolute Truth, which in turn demands absolute morality.
Without absolute Truth we will continue to grope in the darkness seeking the light, but never finding it. We will never find it because each time we have a glimpse of what the light reveals we turn and shrink away. We scoff at those who bring Truth to our attention. Like the prophets of the past, we bind them and threaten them into silence. We applaud and venerate those who in their own special interests delude the world into thinking that they bring justice to humanity. When indeed, it is they that suppress the reality of absolute Truth. It is they who demand that Truth be silenced into submission. It is they who are the militant; ready to destroy the lives of those who desire to stand firm on the Truth of God’s Word.
The justice that we all innately seek evades us, as there is no absolute standard on which to base true justice. Without the reality of Truth, we fail at loving our neighbor and are slowly dying as we are drawn further and further away from the source of Truth. The culture demands tolerance, yet remains intolerant of ultimate Truth. We are a culture of silenced people that have no other choice than to become calloused and indifferent to a society in chaos. In times of turmoil we cry out to God and seek peace, yet the culture demands a god who does not demand of them and has been neutered of any authority over the lives of humanity. For those who raise the torch of Truth and Justice in accordance to God’s Word, the only choice we have is to trust in the Creator and be prepared for the coming persecution as we step out boldly to make a difference in the lives of those who truly seek guidance and healing without compromising the Truth, no matter what the cost.