A Modern Abomination?
Scripture: Matthew 24:15-21 (ESV)
So when you see the abomination of
desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the
reader understand), 16 then
let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down
to take what is in his house, 18 and
let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And alas for women
who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your
flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such
as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will
be.
Reflection:
Now,
the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris are over. In some ways, the Olympic Games were
an inspiring event. Athletes who trained hard put their best efforts against
others, and the best athlete won. In other ways, however, some dark and
disturbing things took place—things that make those who are Christians and
follow the Lord closely no doubt notice. This reflection seeks to make sense of
these alarming events, considering the saying of Jesus I have quoted above.
First,
let’s look at the opening ceremony. A presentation seemed to depict the Last
Supper, with drag queens substituting for Jesus and His disciples. This created
an uproar from Christians around the world. The question that immediately came
to me was: Why would those who thought up and approved of this mockery of the
most holy moment of the world's largest religion think this was something to be
done? It was, to my mind, a blatant insult to Christians around the world.
The
second, and I believe related, thing occurred in women’s boxing. Two athletes
who had XY chromosomes but declared they were women were allowed to box and
destroy their opponents, winning medals in their respective weight classes. I
believe it is the same disregard for the Bible and what it says about sex and
gender that are operational in both the presentation of the queering of the
Last Supper and the inability to distinguish male boxers from female boxers.
The
Bible and especially Jesus frequently taught that Christians should not let the
world make them afraid. However, when we see things like this, we ought to take
notice. In many ways, large and small, our faith is being relegated to the
sidelines. What 50 years ago would have been considered evil and sinful is now
tolerated and celebrated as good and positive.
What
does this mean for the future of the Christian faith? It means we must be
strong and courageous in defending our beliefs. We can no longer assume that most
people have a Biblical Worldview. Public opinion surveys show that most people
in the pews no longer believe the basic tenets of the faith, which, as Jude
writes, “were once and for all delivered to the saints.” These developments
require us to be active believers. We may not hide behind the idea that
Christians must be “nice.” While we should not be obnoxious, we must be firm
and determined that truth is on our side and not cave in whenever someone tells
us we need to keep our religious beliefs to ourselves. Let us pray for that
courage and strength as we seek to make history as disciples of Christ.
Prayer:
Lord,
thank you for letting us live during this time. Let each of us pray and receive
the filling of the Holy Spirit to counter the lies that the cultural elites are
peddling. We have a great legacy of standing up for Jesus. Let us be faithful
to that history and declare the glory of our faith to a watching world. We must
not fear what the world may think of us but be bold to speak and live in ways
that honor our Lord and Savior, who died for us. Amen
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