Merry Christmas!
But only in the Christ of it.
Not much else in the world is worth crowing about. The Senate just passed health care reform that would possibly irreversibly socialize medicine, with implications for the unborn, the disabled and mentally challenged, and the elderly. The country is more militantly immoral than ever before. And whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. (Isaiah 59:15).
A while back I indicated that I had some answer for a workable view for Christ-followers regarding conservative media. During the year 2009, I spent more time listening to Hannity (the mild one of the bunch), Limbaugh, Levin, and even their Ishmael-ic brother Dr. Savage than at any time in my life.
OK, here goes. They are like marathon runners who did not take off with the starting gun. Real regenerates did follow the starting gun, and run from there. But these commentators joined in the middle, and provided their own numbered bibs and running gear. The pull up alongside the regenerates and started seeing the same sites along the road. Some of the regenerates conversed with them and started running at their pace. And then they and their conservative co-runners left the race. Some never came back. Others got sidetracked for a while, like the Pilgrim in his progress. The spurious runners had some of the same observations and running zeal as the real marathoners, but they did not start with the organizer's go-ahead, without his equipment girding them--and had a different goal in mind. Will the marathon Master give them a medal at the sovereignly-bottlenecked finish line?
That is what American political conservatism is like. These masquerading marathoners hate abortion, intrusive and restrictive government, and laziness. They champion courage, faith, and integrity. And that is not wrong. They also use profanity and crudity, insult each other and the President, and rely on human effort to effect change. It is just back-door humanism. And their observations and conclusions evidence a depressed mind without ultimate answers and hope. Although their goal is a strong and free America, they remain powerless to exalt a nation, like Romans 3 points out.
America is not forever, nor is it ultimate. The Word of God is the wake-up call for what really is ultimate, namely the Person of God, evidenced by the work and Word of God. Although that is not visible oftentimes, it will be. And we need to fear God and the final judgment, for fear that we run for nothing, and prove to be more of the masquerade.
As Christmas is here and 2009 draws to a close, remember that even though the national "good old days" may pass from sight, we can let that fact sink in to the point where we look to the God of the Ages, who alone is the Sovereign and gracious one who gives good gifts to those who ask Him.
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