Saturday, July 16, 2022

 

Saturday, July 16, 2022


Psalm 38

Amos 5:1-17

Romans 1:16-25


They hate the one who reproves in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks the truth.


If you understand the language in which these words are being read or heard, then it is very likely you understand precisely the general theme of today's readings. Here in the cultural West, we have a God problem. Paul responds with the bold claim that there is no such thing as an atheist: “For what can be known about God is plain to them”. Humanity's biggest danger is not a pandemic, or inclement weather, or economic systems, but our illogical and irrational rejection of God.


Biblical philosophy holds as true that “there is nothing new under the sun”. Reading today's prophesy in the book of Amos proves it. It might be easy to get caught up in the words written thousands of years ago about worshipping false idols, and imagine people dressed in animal skins dancing around a wooden statue. But note these words about the stars: “The one who made the Pleiades and Orion... the Lord is his name.” Later, in verse 26, we will see that God talks about celestial objects because it turns out the Israelites were worshipping these stars as little gods. Does our culture not suffer the same tendency? We worship the scientific method itself, rather than the One whom that method reveals. Claiming to be wise, educated, trendy, reasonable, forward-thinkers, we have become fools.


One thing cuts through our intellectual gloom: the gospel. Paul calls it “the power of God”. We must never be afraid to speak it, or ever doubt its power. People reject the truth about Jesus not on intellectual grounds, but because it requires them to allow the light of God to shine on their darkness. Yet it is this process which allows us to be freed from our guilt, and step into the light of God as revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. Only then can we see the world as it really is, and see just how incredibly beautiful a home God has made for us.

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