07/29/2024
When the World Mocks God
"Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for your reward in Heaven is great..."
I wish I could say that I was shocked by the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics. I would like to tell you that such a spectacle was without precedent. It would be nice to say that that it wasn't as predictable as the next tick of a clock, but the truth is our society has marched to this drumbeat so long that its cadence is as familiar as it is tiresome.
Christianity is mocked, Jesus is ridiculed, and the sexually immoral are celebrated for the "bravery" of celebrating their immorality before an adoring public. The architects of debauchery have already emerged to tell you that their intent was not to offend but to include and represent. While they struck an apologetic tone, they also made the subtext clear— they accept no responsibility for their actions, and any offense they have caused is unjustified and only amplifies their message.
The question is, why are we angry? We shouldn't be surprised by this. Our culture has long celebrated its intolerance of Biblical Christianity. Christians have always been persecuted, sometimes most vehemently, by those who claim to be followers of Christ.
The agenda on Friday was not to indoctrinate the world or turn them against Jesus. It was to show that it had already happened. It was to remind us that Christ can be insulted and Christianity persecuted, and the world will applaud. But why does this surprise us? The death of Jesus was at the hands of those who mocked and beat him. They spit on him while he was dying. They ridiculed Him for calling out to God. When he made a dying request for water, they offered him poison to make His death more painful.
Friday's display and celebration of sin was nothing compared to the crucifixion. But there was a second agenda, one the Devil secretly employed as he often does. The worst defamation that Christ may suffer in the aftermath may not come at the hands of those who mock Him but at those who rise in His "defense."
Instead of showing the world the other cheek when we are struck, we show them our defiance. Instead of the peacemakers who look like God's children, we employ the world's tactics of protest and anger. Instead of praying for those who use us spitefully, we return spite for spite.
The 46th Psalm speaks about times when the kingdoms of men want to shake the faith of those who believe in God. We are told to cease striving and to know that He is God and to watch as he shows his power over this world. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2 that we are to glorify God in our day of visitation so that they may see our good works and glorify God. Paul reminded the Romans that they should live in peace with all men and never repay evil with evil because vengeance belongs to God.
Jesus doesn't need us to defend him against the ridicule of the world He controls and will judge. He wants us to be salt and light that call men out of darkness by giving glory to the Father even, and perhaps especially, in times when the world puts us to an open shame.
Today is a day when our light can shine brighter because of the ugliness of the world around us, but only if we reject the dark path that Satan has set before us. Don't let your light grow dim.
