We need to get this through our heads: There is no hope for this world. If you take seriously the message of the gospel, that humanity is fallen and in need of redemption from above, then it must necessarily follow that what mankind does without the gospel will never be beneficial to human existence. What we can know and accomplish without Christ is utterly futile against the sorrowful condition of humanity in this world.
We must embrace Christ’s deep cynicism about human government altogether. Jesus made it plain He had no intention of getting involved in the concerns of human government. He didn’t die on the Cross to solve the problems of human government. If the Cross is victory, then obviously this life and its care are not worth much compared to whatever it is His Kingdom seeks to build.
A major element in the rise of the Nation of Israel was a demonstration of what humans would do if God Himself got directly involved in the government of mortals. He made it rather plain how people could live in this world and make the most of the situation. That’s what the time at Mount Sinai was all about. From there, despite God’s very generous and patient efforts, dumping into their lives all the power humans could ever seek over their situation, they simply could not remain loyal to His covenant.
This is the setting into which He sent His Son to make it clear that there is no solution to the human problem. He can explain all day, every day, throughout time, but humans are incapable of getting it right. The only solution is to nail human nature to the Cross. You must submit to Him reaching inside of you and creating a gap between your fleshly nature and your conscious awareness. Your flesh is not the real you. Instead, you’ll spend the rest of your life widening that gap and reducing the influence of the flesh.
While this could mean dying soon after you start down that path, for most of those who submit to Christ, it would mean living for an entirely different reason. At the very least, you are now living to call attention to the huge difference between living for this world and merely living in it.
Christ said His New Covenant Law was simple. First, feudal submission to Him as Lord. Second, love His people as He does. That love is different from what we might offer anyone who isn’t His. It assumes a wealth of background orientation toward the same otherworldly purpose. You might still make a lot of sacrifices for outsiders, but there is no vivid connection between two glowing spirits as long as one is spiritually dead. Whatever we offer to the world at large must be structured to serve as a signal that only a living spirit can recognize.
Don’t take your cues from the world around you. Yes, there are times when it’s best to blend in with the crowd. Your sense of mission and calling will guide you on this. Your convictions will shape your general habits in pursuit of your mission. It is for sure that the context of the moment will provoke your convictions in one way or another. You hold a divine mandate to promote and protect whatever God has granted you as your domain under His authority.
The focus has always been the people, the portion of His family for which you are a shepherd and covering. That’s the one thing you cannot surrender until your divine commission expires. This is what will shape your response to the rising tribulation we face. You should be keeping an eye on the threat and preparing as much as possible to take care of your portion of God’s flock. What will they need? What will you need in order to do that job?
Nobody can nail down for you a schedule of coming events. God has been reticent, likely because, if we knew too much, we would ruin things. Being surprised by the timing and shape of events is part of His plans for us. How will you handle it?
Still, if you are wise in reading your convictions, you may also possess the ability to extrapolate from them some portion of what is coming. If my convictions say to buy some canned goods, it tells me that obtaining food may be somewhat of an issue soon. If my convictions say to make that purchasing a habit, then the timing is unknowable. It’s more about changing habits than specific preparation. It indicates that food will be available, but the selection will be narrow.
Any education you have about general human response to varying conditions will help to steer your expectations. No two of us will have the exact same background, so we should pool our understanding as part of our native compassion for each other. That trouble is brewing should be obvious to anyone.
