Because I Know the Rest of the Story

By Greg Quinn

February 9th, 2010

We live in perilous times.  Years ago, we in America could look at the rest of the world and see a lot of bad things happening, but it wasn’t so bad in America.  After all, we were “God’s Country”, founded on the principles of the Bible, built around a  Godly belief and Christian principles, and legislated through the authority of God’s Word.  But just as the worm decays the apple, the sin of Americans have decayed this great country.  For the first time in my life, I can look at other nations and see them doing better than America, and while this saddens me, it is understood.

America has turned our back on God.  We are nearing the bottom of a downward spiral that started many years ago.  Lewdness of the 40’s led to sexuality of the 50’s which led to the drug and “anything goes” craziness of the 60’s which led to the beginning of depravity in the 70’s which led to increased political turmoil and poor economies in the 80’s which led to a replacement of God by riches and worldly things of the 90’s which led to increased political corruption of the 2000’s which takes us to today, beginning a new decade, and running hard for a societal bottom. 

Would my grandmother, if she were still alive, believe that America had taken God and prayer out of public schools?  Would she believe the level of crime that we face today?  Would she understand a society where Islam (she wouldn’t even know what that was) was growing faster than Christianity?  Would she comprehend the terrorist acts on our own soil, the wars that politics keeps us from winning, and the social depravity of our society?  What would she think about all the sexual sin prevalent everywhere in the news, in the newspapers, and even the depravity of our elected officials who are paid to represent us in a civilized society?  What would she think about this last round of elected politicians, beginning with our new President, and the positions they take for apparent political gain over what is best for America? Would she cry when she heard that judges want to remove “In God We Trust” from our currency, that the 10 Commandments are outlawed in public buildings, that school children no longer say the Pledge of Allegiance, and that Christians are looked down upon in America through an approved intolerance?  She would.  I am just glad my grandmother is not here to witness what we as a nation have become.

However, this is no surprise.  For any student of the Bible, we understand that the world will continue to get worse.  We read in Scriptures about the growth in Islam and the growing attack on anything of God.  We read how the nations will turn against Israel, God’s chosen people.  We read how the world will wax worse and worse into sin.  And yet, when things are at their worst, we as Christians are commanded to look to the sky, for Christ’s return is imminent. 

We don’t enjoy the society in which we live.  What human with a heart can accept the murder of innocent children?  I guess this statement alone solidifies the condition of our President and many other politicians and Americans who exclaim their “individual rights” over the life of a child.  What Christian can accept what is happening in our schools, in our churches, in our society?  How can we sit idly by and watch as all reference to God is being swept away by our judges, politicians, and leaders.  We no longer live in a Christian society in America.  We Christians, who once were the vocal majority in America, are now becoming the silent minority.  We don’t like these things.  Some of us work hard to make a stand in an attempt to make a difference, to make things better, to take America back toward Godly standards.  Pastors in pulpits across our great nation holler and console and weep with warnings to Christians, and they should continue to do so, to even greater degrees.  We are not supposed to like what is happening.  And we are supposed to work hard, even give our lives, in an attempt to change things for good.  Until the end, we are supposed to make a difference.

But, we do know the end of the story.

The world will continue to get worse, but we must continue to fight even harder to prevent it from happening as long as we can.  Christians will endure more and more persecution, but we are warriors in a battle that will eventually be won by Christ.  We have a lot to do before Christ’s return, and we may not have a lot of time left to do it.  There are people in this world who need to understand the love of the Savior.  We need to share the truth in a world of lies and deceit.  We have a lot to do and we must be even more diligent to do the tasks at hand.

The end of the story is a beautiful one.  A rose among the thorns of an ever-increasing ungodliness and filth.  At the end, Christ will come back to take away those that love Him.  Those of us that have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus, and have worked to live our lives for Him, will one day see the Lord’s return to take us out of this evil world.  We will become residents in a new world, one of no more pain, no more sin, no more evil, no more darkness.  Everyone will be happy.  Everyone will praise God.  Christians will no longer be a silent minority, but a loud consensus.  No others will be there, only those who have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus and who have turned over their lives to the promises of Christianity.  We gladly leave a world of darkness for a world of light.  We leave a time of sorrow for an eternity of joy.  We leave bodies of sickness for bodies of eternal health.  No more political corruption.  No more filthy living.  No more war.  Only peace, love, happiness. A beautiful ending.

Because we know the “rest of the story”, because we have read the end of the book, because we have fast-forwarded to the end of the story to understand the beginning, we can live the rest of our days in an evil world, trying to make a difference, and yet recognizing that we are loading a moving van heading to a much better place. 

If you are reading this and really don’t know what I am talking about, let me help you out a bit.  Find you a Bible.  Open it up to the book of Luke or John and read about the life of Jesus.  Then flip over to the book of Romans and read what the apostle Paul wrote about how to become saved from the penalty of sin in the world in which we live.  It may take you a couple hours or so.  But let me ask you this.  If you could find peace in the midst of a dark world, wouldn’t it be worth a few hours of your life?  I think you would agree that it is. 

If after reading this article, and finding a Bible and reading the suggested readings, and you still do not understand, then I have a few other suggestions.  Wherever you live in America, you can find a local Bible-believing church and a Pastor within that church that can aid your understanding.  Call him up, ask him questions.  Ask if you can meet with him privately, just you and him, to truly understand what you have read.  If you don’t know what kind of church to look for, look in your yellow pages under Baptist, Methodist, Church of God, Assembly of God, Presbyterian, etc.  Or, if I can help, pop me an email to gregscorner@gunblast.com, greg@gunblast.com, or peace@gunblast.com.

If you are already a Christian, then like me, you realize that we have a lot of work to do.  As long as we live here, we are commanded to make a difference.  You can make a difference politically by supporting only people and issues that are Godly ones.  You can make a difference in your community by reaching out to help those in need, smiling more often, and sharing the love of Christ with others.  You can make a difference in your church by serving more.  You can make a difference in your workplace by living for Christ and showing others the joy that can come through Christian living.  You can make a difference in your school by following Jesus instead of following the crowd.  You can make a difference in your home by being a better Mom, a better Dad, a better Son or Daughter, a better Brother or Sister.  You can make a difference in the world by taking a stand for what is right.  It is our obligation to do these things, so why not start now?  It’s not too late to make a difference.

Because I know the end of the story, I can smile through the adversity.  You can too.

Greg Quinn