Cynicism is an acquired skill.Like all the junk piled in my garage it is there because I put it there.I own it lock, stock and barrel and the only one who can get rid of it is me.
We have all experienced momentous change in our life.In the span of an hour or even a few moments our lives turn in a direction that was completely unanticipated.Perhaps it was an injury, the loss of a job or some tragedy that suddenly forced us to confront our mortality.In Revelation chapter 18 the merchants and seaman marvel at how quickly the great city of Babylon is brought to ruin, “for in one hour is she made desolate” (Rev 18: 19).That glorious and massive city with wonderful structures and splendid works became a sudden wasteland.Sometimes that’s the way our lives seem.
Why do we rarely hold fast to the expectation that the antithesis of this gloomy scenario, positive momentous change, is the more likely outcome in our lives?Why do we allow cynicism to pile up in our hearts like junk in a garage when the Messiah died on a cross to give us a hopeful alternative?The answer is because we choose to store cynicism in our hearts, we own it lock, stock and barrel, and we’re the only ones who can get rid of it.
God is certainly capable of producing positive momentous change at His pleasure.“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth:and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind” (Isaiah 65: 17).Man is capable of triggering momentous change but we don’t always improve the situation for the better.Our collective unwillingness to make momentous change for our betterment and our inability to agree among ourselves what that change should be is one of the reasons God will ultimately assert His judgment.
Breathtaking Change
In the United States it is estimated there have been 40 million+ abortions in the last 20 years.It is within the realm of human possibility, not probability, to build an overwhelming consensus that promiscuity and abortion are wrong and embryos and fetuses are latent human beings that should be allowed to develop without interruption.With faithful sexual relations between men and women restored to the norm God originally intended unwanted pregnancies would decrease dramatically.Children that resulted from the diminished amount of unwanted pregnancies could be adopted or raised by extended family members.This would end the hideous plague of infanticide cursing our land and could be accomplished in the span of just a couple of years, even months or days.
Eliminating abortion on demand would go a long way towards preventing God’s heavy hand of judgment from falling on us.“Impossible!” critics will shout.“That type of momentous change is not possible, it could never be agreed upon by enough people, it will never happen!Besides, who are you to say a pending judgment of God is approaching?Do you claim to speak for God?”
If we lack the discipline and will to implement positive momentous change God will do it for us.He is willing to tolerate evil for a period of time to allow repentance but He will not tolerate evil through eternity.No one can predict how or when God will act but eventually He will.Am I speaking for God?Whether I am or not, whichever way you answer that question says more about you than anything I could ever say.
Small Change
Positive change does not have to occur in the wink of an eye to be momentous.“For who hath despised the day of small things?” (Zech 4: 10).If we take a lot of good, small things and add them together over a period of time they will constitute a momentous great thing.Small things are never to be despised because although we may not notice them we can be certain God does.He expects us to build our lives one step at a time, “line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28: 10).It is our ability to find God’s glory and grace in that which is small that allows us to fully understand and appreciate the greatest of His gifts and implement positive momentous change in our lives.
Copyright Rick Byland
Rick Byland is the author of “No Fear:Moving Mountains and Slaying Dragons” by Strang Communications.He is a retired Lieutenant Commander (USNR) and a business owner in Southern California .
