Turmoil at Westminster. Rising levels of knife crime on our streets. Children walking out of schools to protest about global warming. Terrorist attacks in New Zealand. The world is in a mess. No one can deny that. I read this week that some women are going on ‘birth strike’; refusing to have children for fear of bringing them into a world whose prospects are so bleak. You might sympathise.
From that perspective our gathering at church this Sunday, and the millions of similar gatherings around the world, may seem to some like the band playing whilst the Titanic sinks, or Nero fiddling whilst Rome burns. But nothing could be further from the truth. This is not about dulling our pain- but rejoicing in hope.
Our passage from Isaiah this Sunday reminds us that the Lord’s arm is not so short to save, nor his strength too weak to rescue. The God of the Bible is sovereign and good, and he hasn’t lost control of history. From underneath a loom the threads look messy and the knots ugly, but from the top, the design is glorious. In the same way, from our perspective the world may look like chaos and one mistake and tragedy after another, but God sees the end from the beginning and he is working his purposes out for the good of his people and for his great glory.
I wonder, could you share that hope this week? When someone starts to moan about the world and say it’s all going to hell in a handcart- could you point out that you have a different view? Could you tell them that as a Christian you have hope for the future, a hope rooted in Jesus, who entered our world, endured the cross and rose again that we, despite our sin and failure, might be raised to glory. Our world is desperate for hope and good news. Let’s not be shy in sharing it.