Not a very encouraging picture is it? In some
cases, downright frightening. Where is God in all this? And
where is the church?
Well, God is where God always is - in the
thick of it - working, nudging, leading, forgiving, showing
mercy, guiding, tugging, transforming.
The question we need to ask is where are we in
all that? What is to be our role in such a world? Clearly, we
have the task of helping people diagnose problems and
directing them to the prognosis God offers to all.
As we enter a new year/century/millennium, we
will need to become ever more adept in using the basic
resources of law and gospel, word and sacrament that God has
placed at our disposal to lead people to Christ.
If those juniors and seniors are anywhere near
the mark, we will need to become more adept in our
proclamation and more effective in our witness.
The stakes for authentic Christian witness
have never been higher. We need to recommit ourselves and our
loved ones to the disciplines of worship, private/family
devotions, prayer, reading Scripture, sacrificial giving, and
personal witness. We need to take advantage of every
opportunity for spiritual growth.
The world is changing. Some of the change is
good and worthwhile to human growth and development, but much
of it will challenge us beyond anything we have ever faced
before as Christians. Jesus said, "We must work the works
of God who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no
one can work." (John 9:4). Now is the hour given to us.
How well we respond to the challenge is up to us.
--John Gugel
