An Indictment from Centuries Past

I considered several posts for today, and clearly wrote none, but all the better, as nothing could have been as striking as we enter the second decade of the 21st century as the following from Walter Rauschenbusch’s classic Christianity and the Social Crisis, written early in the 20th century:

When the Nineteenth Century died, its Spirit descended to the vaulted chamber of the Past, where the Spirits of the dead Centuries sit on granite thrones together. When the newcomer entered, all turned toward him and the Spirit of the Eighteenth Century spoke: “Tell thy tale, brother. Give us word of the humankind we left to thee.”

“I am the Spirit of the Wonderful Century. I gave man the mastery over nature. Discoveries and inventions, which lighted the black space of the past like lonely stars, have clustered in a Milky Way of radiance under my rule. One man does by the touch of his hand what the toil of a thousand slaves never did. Knowledge has unlocked the mines of wealth, and the hoarded wealth of today creates the vaster wealth of tomorrow. Man has escaped the slavery of Necessity and is free.

“I freed the thoughts of men. They face the facts and know. Their knowledge is common to all. The deeds of the East at eve are known in the West at morn. They send their whispers under the seas and across the clouds.

“I broke the chains of bigotry and despotism. I made men free and equal. Every man feels the worth of his manhood.

“I have touched the summit of history. I did for mankind what none of you did before. They are rich. They are wise. They are free.”

The Spirits of the dead Centuries sat silent, with troubled eyes. At last the Spirit of the First Century spoke for all.

“We all spoke proudly when we came here in the flush of our deeds, and thou more proudly than we all. But as we sit and think of what was before us, and what has come after us, shame and guilt bear down our pride. Your words sound as if the redemption of man had come at last. Has it come?

Am I Any Earthly Good?

How many times have we heard the cliché about being “so heavenly minded you’re no earthly good”? While the point may be a valid one, in reality, it has been those who were most fixed on things above that did the most good here on earth.

It was Martin Luther King’s “dream” of having all flesh see the glory of the Lord together that fueled the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

It was Mother Teresa’s conviction that her hands should be the instruments of delivering daily bread – along with the love of God – that brought peace and joy to many of the world’s poorest people in Calcutta.

It was Desmond Tutu whose understanding that God is seeking the restoration of what He first created that inspired among the people of South Africa and the world the ability to achieve what many saw as “idealistic.”

Indeed, it was Jesus’ connection with His Father and love for His creation that transformed the lives of those with whom He came in contact and made salvation available to the world.

Is “this mind…in you, which was also in Christ Jesus”? (Philippians 2:5) What is your first thought in the morning? The last before going to sleep at night?  Most importantly, what are these thoughts accomplishing in the world around you in the time in between?

Proverbs tells us that “where there is no vision, the people perish.” (29:18) Are you being true to the vision the Lord has given to you or do you continue to ask what it is that the Lord requires, when the answer is given clearly in Scripture: “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)