Fat Ladies Do Not Sing the Marine Hymn - But a Different Tune is Needed to Get Away From Libya

Submitted by M. Tovey (United States), Apr 28, 2011 at 19:41

When we look at the world and the various paths many are seeking to make some sense of what is going on, history shows us that very few chose a path that could be called adequate, let alone called good. In the final analysis for some, being able to successfully negotiate through all that life throws at us is daunting and without being able to reach out for the solace or peace all seek after, there is indeed the sense of hopelessness.

At the risk of being personal, I have so much empathy for the people who had to endure the travails of the Holocaust, something that I have never been able to get my uncle to unravel when he was there with the US Armed Forces. Nevertheless, the truth and the enduring evidence of such things did propel me to search the Scriptures at various times to try and peel away the layers of inhumanity that could have perpetrated such acts, only to find that in such things, recognizing that they happened results in making a determination that even as they did, humanly speaking, there was only one recourse to 'solve' what to do about it. Hence: there is my strict reliance upon my faith.

Years ago, I was involved in a lay ministry of my fellowship of the time at a convalescent home, one resident of which was a fellow that, while not saying so in any words, reacted to my message of faith and grace in a way that I would not have expected. Finally revealing that he was Jewish (whether of European extract or not, I could not really tell), he was finally at a place where only the Gospel of Jesus Christ could give him a sense that a life full of inequities cannot be lived on strictly human resources, that seeking the transcendence found in faith was the only way he could get through what would be the last years of his life. I shared the truth if such things (much in the same way with you) to the end that he made the decision to seek the Truth found in the Hebrew Holy Bible.

True faith does not find fault with those who are seeking a way to achieve a process of life that would end with adequately acceptable results, with a few really good outcomes to make it all worthwhile. But truth faith needs to be expressed as something to share with those who are still seeking how to make all work in the face of all the seeming odds against it. Essentially it is reduced to this: to Whom do you want to trust your future? Or, about the people you care about; to Whom would someone send someone else to determine the best for them in life? So while I see what is happening in this world with the lens of Biblical discernment, for me it is the same; that I'll witness to anyone who will consider letting the LORD reveal Himself in an exchange of faith and truth, no matter the person's initial understanding of such things (ie., Christianesque, Jewish, Muslim, agnostic or otherwise). The Holy Bible will always prevail in its truth and will carry the believer to the eternal promise for their belief.

Now we can certainly look around and find plenty of evidence that the world is indeed in freefall, that the once sought out places of haven, such as when my forebears came to this land in the various ways of European immigrants, from Plymouth Rock to Ellis Island. They did so because at those various times, the freedom and liberties that sang out from America's shores were siren calls to a better life. I would be sarcastic to think that if they saw such things as we see today, they might not be so inclined.

So it comes down to this; that there will be no fat lady singing, but likely a rapper ranting in apocalyptic cadence of darkened melancholic disbelief that things could get to be so bad. And yet, there is better than average evidence that this world, while trying so desperately to find some sense of peace without seeking Him Who is the Prince of Peace, is foundering just as the Scriptures say. I can only offer those who are seeking that everlasting peace to seek out and accept the offer of salvation from the Prince of Peace, then sharing the faith that He gives to get us through each and every day. I cannot see how to do it otherwise. Thank you for your generous wishes; and the same for you and yours.

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