If you’ve seen the news lately, honestly it’s rather depressing with what is happening to society. So much has gone from one way to the complete opposite, where you can be attacked for standing up for your faith.
The saddest thing however is that instead of submitting to God we have submitted to the arrogance of man. What has happened to us? We have brothers in sisters in parts of the world that are dying for their faith and yet in the face of adversity we sleek into the shadows hoping not to be noticed.
Once upon a time all the mattered was being in the presence of God, and now all it appears to be is something that the majority do once a week and on special occasions. Personally, I recall a time when all I cared about was being in the presence of God and what can I do to get more, and honestly that’s all I cared about. The same can be said for a lot of people, if you’re wondering to whom I refer, I am referring to anyone who once only cared about being in God’s presence.
Most people now seem to only worry about things that have no eternal value what so ever and honestly, this is something I myself have been guilty and convicted of. It’s an issue that isn’t ours alone, the apostles dealt with similar matters, but they also knew when to stop and submit to God rather than everything else.
The same can be said for a majority of churches, there was a time when a man or woman of God could speak freely with a message of God, when one could challenge one another in a loving way. A time where disagreements were welcomed, as it was an opportunity to seek the answer with a fellow believer. Now, anyone with a different view is shown the door. Look at the apostles again, they bickered, they had different views.
One prominent argument being sharing bread with the ‘unclean’. Despite this, they did not allow it to prevent them from serving God and the Church, but rather they allowed an opportunity to be shown a different point of view.
What happened to us?
When did we become so dissatisfied with solely having the presence of God and a relationship with our fellow believers? Why have we laid down our God given authority instead of raising our voices collectively and saying, “No these things that are happening clearly aren’t a reflection of God’s will on this earth.” In the New Testament it is said time and time again we are living in the last days and for all we know it could all end tomorrow, because we don’t know the time or the day, that the end will come like a thief in the night.
It can’t be allowed to continue like this, and it’s clear we need to pick our authority back up and stop submitting to the arrogance of man. Look where all said arrogance has gotten us, clearly, we need to be more Christ-like and live lives that reflect the characteristics of disciples.
Sure, we are indeed living in the last days and yes, the arrogance of man is everywhere, however it does not mean we go silent but rather we need to be loud. What should happen to us is in these last days where we know not when Christ will return, we collectively need to return to being fully satisfied with the presence of God and again prioritising that and only that.
Ashley lives in Kingaroy, Australia. He is currently, studying teaching at Christian Heritage College. During his free time Ashley can be found reading an old book or collecting new ones.
Ashley Menelaws’ previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/ashley-menelaws.html
Ash lives in Kingaroy, Queensland. It’s here he works as a farm hand, bull rides and finishing his degree in teaching. Ash is a former young writer and has returned to the team.