Articles
The Darker the Night, the Brighter the Stars
The evil of the world around us can discourage us. We might think back to the "good ‘ole days" when most people believed the Bible was God’s Word and had some sense of a moral compass. We might think, "Things are worse than ever and our culture is squeezing Christianity out completely!" First, nostalgia is rarely based in reality (Ecclesiastes 7:10). Second, there is nothing new under the sun (Ecc. 1:9). The world has been corrupting itself since Genesis 3. I don’t say that to further discourage, but to remind us of the reality of what Satan does to a society in any age that abandons God.
Consider this: the darker the night sky, the brighter the stars appear. Instead of being discouraged by the darkness of society, let’s see it as an opportunity to stand out as brighter lights in the world (Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:14-15). Isn’t it true that it’s not until people hit rock bottom that they realize they need salvation? Sure, there will always be people who reject God, but what if the more people reach the pinnacle of evil, the more clearly Jesus shines as the pinnacle of righteousness? What if the more wicked the world becomes, the more righteous Christians appear? What if the more atheism and humanism lead us to moral absurdity, the more sensible Christianity becomes? What if the more horrific the news headlines, the more beautiful heaven becomes? Dear brethren, the time is not for complaining, discouragement, or nostalgia, but for evangelism!
