The fall of man, the beginning of sin and death.
Been studying WW1 history. What a nightmare, a four-year horror show which changed the world.
The worst war that this world has ever seen, as far as large scale human suffering is concerned was this war. And if you think about it, it was mostly waged by Christians against other Christians. All competing for land, money and “glory”. There are remarkable lessons there for us all.
What particularly interests me about this war was that most of the major actors, and particularly the ones that played a major role we’re supposed Christian nations. So called Christendom was at war with itself.
Most of Europe were Christians. Protestants in Germany, Catholics in France and Italy, Orthodox Christians in Russia, and Church of England in England.
In WW2 unlike WW1 everyone was fighting blatant evil in Hitler and the cult in the Japanese government.
But in WW1 it was primarily Christian dominated governments fighting for money, land, and power.
At the start of WW1 most people were excited to get into it for “glory”. It was almost like a sport for many involved.
But how quickly their thinking changed after 1914.
I believe God allowed that war to break something in his people. An evil stronghold needed to be broken in them, it was a twisted love of the world. A lust for human government, for wealth, and for power. It was a Christian cooperation with the principalities and powers in the kingdom of darkness and it resulted in unspeakable suffering, 22 million deaths, and widespread famine. In a part of the world that was normally quite prosperous.
That is what Christians do when we go after government, to supply us power and money, we join Satan’s kingdom of darkness. We cooperate with and we submit to him. Even to the point killing our brethren for an deceptively evil idea of personal ‘glory’.
Some servants of God during their life absolutely no one listened to, for some, no one even liked them…and….then they were murdered.
Those circumstances were because of the state of Gods people at the time and place they lived. There was a lot of religion going on then but not a lot of connection to God.
The only thing that remains of some of them was their writings, which vindicates them many years later. But how many of them never even wrote? Preachers who were ignored, hated, murdered, then forgotten. Did they miss God or miss their calling?
NO, because Jesus saw them, Jesus remembers them, and Jesus will vindicate them.
That might be the calling for many people in the church. Many disciples of Christ might be called upon to suffer like that.
What about you? How about that for a calling?, how about that for “making the world a better place”, or our “best life now .”
Do you think the Lord still asks that of his followers ?
