I received a letter this week that is written in Greek that I
have translated and would like to share with you. It is from
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and it is
addressed to: all my brothers and sisters living in the 21st
century. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
For many years I have longed to see you. I have heard a great
deal about you and all the marvelous things you are doing.
News has reached me that your scientific and technological
advances are phenomenal. You have at your disposal automobiles
so luxurious that the average man in my day would never have
conceived such a possibility. I have heard about your ingenious
skyscrapers and huge builders. I understand some folks become a
bit dizzy and faint, just looking up at them. It boggles my mind
just contemplating the fascinating achievements you have
attained.
It is my understanding the medical technology can cure in the
twinkling of an eye, the plagues and diseases that would destroy
us by the thousands. All of this is wonderful. You can do so
much more in your day than I could do in the Greco-Roman world
of my day. Your educational facilities and advantages are superb
and beyond compare to any other time in human history. You can
travel distances in 5 days that in my day, required 5 years. All
of this is marvelous.
And what is this I hear about that high-tech deluxe jumbo jet
called Air force One. I’m told it’s a floating mansion with
sophisticated and extensive electronics. You have computers and
cellular phones that make it possible for you to contact just
about anybody in the world while cruising tens of thousands of
feet in the air. All of this is simply fabulous.
I am a staunch believer in progress. I believe in development. I
believe in growth and advancement. I think all of these are
splendid. But I wonder if your moral and spiritual progress has
kept up with your scientific and technological progress. From
what I have been hearing, your spiritual progress lags far
behind your technological progress. It seems to me that you have
plenty of money – but very little manners; lots of gossip – but
little Gospel; prey on bad news – ignore God’s good news; play
too much – pray too little; fine houses – very few homes; lots
of lust – very little love; talk too much – testify too little;
lots of churches – few temples of God; lots of formality –
little spirituality; lots of beliefs – no faith. And what are
these Situation Ethics I keep haring about? In my day it was,
children obey your parents. But it seems like you all have
changed it to; parents obey your children.
I am proud to hear America, that through your political genius
you have managed to make your world a neighborhood. I understand
that you have been able to establish working relationships with
far away countries and that is beautiful. But it is tragic that
with all you have at your disposal; you have failed to make it a
Brotherhood.
Oh yes, my brothers and sisters, you have managed to produce the
ultimate in scientific knowledge. In my day in my wildest
imagination, we never would have thought of the invention of
nuclear bombs; that deadly weapon that can be dropped from a
plane on the heads of millions of people and can set the whole
world on fire with the press of a button.
You live in an age of technological genius. But I also heard the
other day that you live in an age of longing, age of anxiety,
age of suspicion and fear. You live in an age in which people
are afraid to defend the faith for fear of offending
disbelievers; an age of compromise and acceptance and tolerance
for the intolerable. You live in an age where all
representations of Christianity in the work place, community and
government offices are considered inappropriate and to be
reserved for the private home environment only. So it seems like
you have plenty of genius but no wisdom. Therefore I find it
necessary to write to you to remind you; in the midst of all
your great knowledge and advancement, of the responsibility laid
upon you to represent Jesus Christ.
In a time when man’s inhumanity to man has reached chaotic
proportions and destroying the very foundation of ethical
values, we need those who are willing to take a stand for Jesus
Christ.
You are the salt of the earth; you are able to be a light in the
midst of a dark world. You have become one the richest nations
under the sun. You live in a land that flows with milk and
honey. You have eaten from grapes that you did not plant; you
live in homes that you did not build, and yet I hear the painful
cries of people all over the world dying of starvation.
Therefore I, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of
God, deem it necessary to write to you to inform you that God is
still able. It seems to me you depend more on pills than you
depend on God. I understand you have invented pills to come in
all shapes and sizes, all colors and taste. You have a pill for
just about everything. But it is strange that out of all these
pills, there is not one that will prevent a person from lying
and cheating, stealing and killing.
Well, that being said brothers and sisters; I encourage you to
take a stand for the Lord. Live or die, survive or perish, stand
on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ and “be strong in the
Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of
God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness
in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of
God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and
having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put
on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet
with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking
the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all
the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the
Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and
supplication for all the saints-- and for me, that utterance may
be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known
the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in
chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak”
Ephesians 6:10-20).
“Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the
proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the
mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made
known through the prophetic writings by the command of the
eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him– to
the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen”
(Romans 16:25-27).
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