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World upside down

And what is CMI doing about it?

by

First published in a CMI newsletter, May 2020

skyscrapers

It is difficult to watch or read news broadcasts without some sense that the world seems to be in strife. Because of global media, the Internet, and the fact that one can travel just about anywhere very quickly, our world is a small place and it is shrinking.

Some years ago, one would not have access to the incredible amount of information available about another country. For example, although I live in the US, I can turn on a news app on my phone and select specific news for the UK or my home country of Australia, so I can keep up with events downunder.


In the last few months:

  • There were massive bushfires in Australia that are wrongly being cited as evidence of climate change, causing unnecessary worldwide fear.
  • Iran’s Muslim regime shot down a commercial aircraft carrying innocent passengers—despite their initial denials. This even led to false rumors of war between the US and Iran.
  • The President of the United States was impeached.
  • Stories of massive crimes and corruption continue to accelerate, creating a loss of confidence in companies, leaders, and politicians.
  • North Korea continues to threaten the world with its missile program.
  • Brexit has unsettled millions in the UK and Europe.
  • And a terrifying new coronavirus (Covid-19) with a frighteningly high mortality rate threatens to engulf the world in unprecedented pandemic levels. 

Some of these were specific to a particular country, but we really are now a global community. What one country does or doesn’t do seems to be everyone else’s business! And I’m sure wherever you live, none of these events have escaped you. Where is the good news in all of this? Many are asking, “What does the future hold for the earth and its inhabitants?”

end-nigh-sign

It depends on where we place our hope

Those of us who are older have no doubt been through precarious times and understand that there are peaks and troughs in life. And we get through them. But I wonder about our young people today who worry about what future they face when they see these problems and hear “global crisis!” It might even be a terrifying prospect for ones who are also young in the faith. But what can those who do not know Christ do? When the coronavirus took hold in China, our staff prayed for the Chinese people. I suggested we empathize and we tried to imagine what it would be like if a major city like New York or Atlanta were facing the same shutdown, quarantines, and seeing friends and families die—and having no cure or seeming hope in a potential global crisis.

A time to reap!

The wisest of men—King Solomon—wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:1–8.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

I believe Solomon is exhaustively making the point that we have no control over when we are born or die, whether we are born into wealth or poverty, or even what we look like. Only God who looks down from heaven controls all things. The world’s events do not take Him by surprise. At the beginning of chapter 1, Solomon writes that “All is vanity.” This is because each generation will pass away, and of course, so will the Earth eventually.

Our modern societies have tended to cause us to focus on self. But with any major crisis that we as individuals cannot change, we should not be looking inward, but upward! When individuals, our neighborhoods or even when our country is suffering or in any state of despair, this is a time for us—Christians—to stand up and take a higher, God-driven, perspective of things. After all, the only thing we are taking to Heaven with us are the people we lead to Christ—not the possessions we tend to worry about (Matt. 6:19–21).

There are no atheists in foxholes!

This is an old military mantra. In short, when faced with the threat of death many consider an eternal perspective. I.e. “What will happen to me when I die?” There is no doubt that many overseas, in our own countries, neighborhoods and families, who do not know Christ, are probably thinking that right now due to such global unrest. We can ask them “Where are you placing your hope? In your government? In your medical system? In the idea that the earth will endure forever?” There are no guarantees nor salvation to be found there.

You cannot necessarily change the world, but you can help change a life

So, there is something you can do. You can share Christ. By pointing people back to the evidence of Creation and, indeed, why bad things happen, we can also share that this incredible Creator is the only One who has the power to save us. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Our only hope is in Jesus.

Sharing one’s faith terrifies most people due to the possible questions one might receive. But you can alleviate this burden quite easily by sharing creation resources. At a recent event, CMI speaker Mark Emerson reported, “a single mum burst into tears, confessing Christ as Lord and Savior. In her words, ‘It’s all fallen into place today. It makes so much sense! I need to repent and today I’ve asked God into my life!’”

Only the Bible’s history with its account of a good world, gone bad, can make sense of the world we live in. Sue C. wrote: “Just four years ago I didn’t have a faith that seemed worth sharing…I have been a Christian for 50 years, but in the last 4 years my understanding of God has been transformed beyond anything I thought possible. I start most days with an article from Creation magazine, or CREATION.com on the Internet, because it reminds me just how BIG our God is. To all at CMI, past and present: words are inadequate to express my gratitude for all your work. My dear Father God knew just how to reach me in my doubt and pain and show me that I can safely trust Him. He used your ministry to achieve it.”

Share creation information

As Christians it is all too easy to get into a routine. Our daily and weekly lives generally follow a pattern, and mostly a comfortable pattern at that. The events above should make us realize that such a comfort zone can be disrupted all too easily. So, as you read this, please consider that people everywhere need the Lord. Let me challenge you please to ‘step outside’ of your comfort zone today. And it does not take a lot of work. Here’s what you can do.

  • Share information from this site via our free INFObytes email newsletter (sign up via the link or on the front page). This will keep you up to date with breaking news and you’ll also receive a free gift from us.
  • Perhaps you’ve been challenged with a question from a family member or friend. Search our site for an article answer. You can then forward that articles to them using the ‘share’ button on the page.
  • Subscribe someone to our Creation magazine. It already goes to over 100 countries. It’s a beautiful, glossy mag that people want to read. It’s easy evangelism because it just arrives in their mailbox.
  • Peruse our webstore for books, DVDS and tracts and lots more.
  • If you are on social media please share links to articles on CREATION.com.
  • Or simply donate to CMI. We are a faith-funded ministry and could not produce the resources we do without the generous support we receive.

Thank you for considering how to change a life today!

Published: 15 December 2020