The Light Went Dark and the Salt Went Flat

By David Hobbs

[This was published as the Appeal Democrat's "Message of the Week" on its religion page on 5/22/15]

In the last 53 years, America has seen perhaps the greatest moral free-fall of any culture in history. From the removal of God from the public schools in the 1960s, the legalization of abortion in the 70s, the advent of the destructive drug culture, no-fault divorce and family breakdown, pornography epidemic … the cultural carnage goes on and on and shows no sign of abating. In my town of Olivehurst, the churches that were once full and prospering are barely surviving with a few older people in a community devastated by drugs. 

Where were the churches while all this was going on? Attending meetings, singing songs, listening to sermons, and fellowshipping. Instead of being the salt and light prescribed by Jesus, we have been neither. Since all this happened on our watch, we must give an account of ourselves to God. If there ever was a time we needed to heed the words of 2 Chron. 7:14 it is now: humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways. 

 I heard a local pastor tell his congregation a few years ago, “Your hope is in the rapture.” I guess what he meant was that the church had become so weak and ineffective that it was unfixable and the best we could hope for was to get raptured out and let someone else deal with the mess we left behind. 

God doesn’t take the failure of His people lightly. Israel had to wander in the wilderness until the whole generation died off because they refused to believe God to take them into the Promised Land. In Jeremiah’s day, Jerusalem was destroyed and the nation exiled for 70 years to Babylon because they had a societal meltdown much like ours today. In Jesus’ time, Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in a terrible blood bath and the nation scattered for 2000 years because God’s people didn’t recognize the day of their visitation and accept their Messiah. 

 Yet we think God is going to shrug off 55 million aborted babies and the unbelievable human carnage from the evils we have allowed to flourish in our day? And then rapture us to heaven! Such thinking must have the angels shaking their heads in utter disbelief. 

God does have the answer but only for those who are willing to repent and accept accountability before Him.