~ Toward A Better World

Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not we live in a world that is fractured and closer to hell than Heaven.  Not even counting the majority of peoples of  the world who live on less than two dollars a day, the character of the affluent nations is a model of evil.  Oppression, repression, addictions of all sorts invade most people’s happiness. 

The communities that we live in are little more than loose aggregations of people with dissimilar interests and disconnected connections.  We travel across town to be with friends and work in places where we are only one of a number of employees.

Basic elements of society are under attack by the evil that seeks to destroy everything that is instituted for our good.  Interest groups seek to assert the end of institutions such as marriage, the Church, the family are all under fire by the enemies of God.  Our society is supposed to be known by the way we care for the powerless, by the way that we love the unlovely, by the way that we forgive when we are mistreated.

Instead, as Shakespeare wrote “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.  We have built our society on advantage and power; the “Mr. Bigs” of our world have all the freedoms to do just as they wish while the “Orphan Annies” of the neighbourhood just get to scratch out an existence hand to mouth.  Injustice is rampant, not merely in the criminal world but even among the respectable.

The problem with all this doom and gloom description is that none of it is new.  The Greeks of antiquity knew these truths, even the prophets of the Old Testament made recordings of their utterances both toward God and for God.  David the Psalmist asked the question “How long oh God” 

There is no simple solution.  The twists and turns of those who stand against establishing a Heaven on Earth scenario are multi levelled and multi pronged.  While there is no one solution there is one who can enable more solutions than His opposition can dream up.

The Bible does provide us with a model, from the prophet Micah, which does give a mechanism which will work with the majority of social evils.  In verses one and two of Chapter six we find

Listen now, listen to God: "Take your stand in court. 
If you have a complaint, tell the mountains; make your case to the hills.
And now, Mountains, hear God's case; listen, Jury Earth—
For I am bringing charges against my people.
I am building a case against Israel.

And in verse eight as if to answer the charge

But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously— take God seriously.

If we can apply God’s solution in all the ways that our Heaven on Earth is distorted and the people are deceived we have the mechanism that our Master Jesus lived.  If we can live the same way we can draw people to Him.  This way Jesus solves our problems as He remakes the heart of those who trust Him.