As we approach the season of Lent......
The previous blog entry which touched upon the belief that "we are being tested in love" in relation to the world and its seductions, might appear a bit "flighty", even from the perspective of common Christian faith, if it is not somehow "tied down" by more "objective" points of reference. The Bible, whether seen as the Word of God, or an ancient and influential collection of writings by men who promoted themselves as Divinely inspired, has many passages which bear out the belief that our relationship with the world ought to be of a cautious and informed nature. This blog is being written largely for believers...those whose lives have been somehow impacted and oriented on a deep level towards the Christian Faith. Those who have chosen to believe in the revealed Word of God.
As regards the "world" as a testing grounds, there is one primary passage which provided influence in my own life many years ago. This passage is very strong and clear:
"Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticements for the eye, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticements are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever." 1 John 2: 15-17
On a deeper and even "heavier" level, so to speak, the author to the epistle to the Thessalonians writes concerning an apostate generation:
"And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay through His Word and render powerless through the manifestation of His presence...the one whose coming springs from the power of Satan in every mighty deed and in signs and wonders that deceive, and in every wicked deceit for those who are perishing because they have not accepted the love of Truth so that they may be saved. Therefore God is sending upon them a deceiving power so that they may believe the lie, that all who have not believed the truth but have approved wrongdoing may be condemned".
2 Thessalonians 2: 8-12
Saint James in his epistle writes:
" Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their afflictions and to keep oneself unstained by the world".
James 1: 27
In the 18th Chapter of the Book of Revelation we find the exhortation:
Come out of her my people, so as not to take part in her sins and receive a share of her plagues, for her sins are piled up to the sky, and God remembers her crimes....she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord who judges her. Alas, alas, great city, wearing fine linen, purple and scarlet, adorned in gold, precious stones, and pearls. In one hour this great wealth has been ruined.....No melodies of harpists and musicians, flutists and trumpeters, will be heard in you again. No craftsmen in any trade will be found in you again. No sound of the millstone will be heard in you again. No light from a lamp will be seen in you again. No voices of bride and groom will be heard in you again.....Alleluia, smoke will rise from her forever and ever." ( a sequence of various quotations from the 18th and 19th chapter of the Book of Revelation).
From the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament:
"The earth fades and mourns, the world languishes and fades, both the sky and the earth languish. The earth is polluted because of its inhabitants, who have broken the ancient covenant. A curse devours the earth and they who dwell on it grow pale and few are left.....He who flees at the sound of terror will fall into the pit. He who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the trap. The earth will reel like a drunkard, its rebellion will weigh it down, until it falls, never to rise again."
( A sequence from Chapter 24)
From Psalm 9:
The nations fall into the pit they dig, in the snare they hide, their own foot is caught. The Lord has revealed Himself and given judgement, the wicked are ensnared in the work of their own hands. Psalm 9: 16-17
I realize this is all SEEMS very gloomy. From the perspective of faith it describes the process by which fallen man returns to the dust. Every Ash Wednesday we hear the words "remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return". This can be reckoned and understood both individually and collectively, as regards the "human world". And that is really the basis of it all. Humanity stands in need of redemption, reconstruction, renewal. The spirit of the human world, no matter how gloriously and seductively it presents itself, is built upon and extended upon a wrongful, fallen and condemned choice of "freedom". Freedom in the absence of true self knowledge. Impious freedom. The world is passing away in judgement. And to heartfully attend to this fallen world as a source of entertainment, an object of desire, or as an immediate goal of human fulfillment is a "chase after wind". We fail the test. This is the path of condemnation. The call of the Gospel leads us to separate from and transcend the world spirit...To be counter cultural to the abiding culture of the world. This is the way of salvation. God, who is Love, and Who is the reference for Love defined in the Ultimate, is testing us for our obedience in love. As Jesus says: "He who "loses" his life for My sake will find it."
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