Our Bible verse for today: “Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9 (CSB)
Our thought for today: “Do your part and don’t give up”
Christians have a long and noble history of being change agents in society. In an effort to be salt and light, as Jesus commanded in The Sermon on the Mount, the followers of Christ have always been thought leaders on important issues, and agents of change where change needed to occur. That change always took time, often a lot of time, and it required tremendous effort and great sacrifice on the parts of those leading the effort.
William Wilberforce was a Christian politician in England in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He spent decades of his life working to abolish the slave trade in England. At first his fellow Christians opposed him, they thought his concerns were misplaced and his ideas were ridiculous. But Wilberforce never gave up, and slowly over time he began to help people see the wisdom and rightness of the cause. Eventually the slave trade was outlawed in England as a direct result of Christians doing the right thing and refusing to give up on the issue.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a Christian leader who advocated for civil rights for blacks in America. He faced great opposition and tremendous obstacles. But his cause was right and it was Biblical. So he and his supporters leaned into it, slowly won people to their side, and kept pushing for change. Those efforts by Christians who refused to give up eventually changed the very fabric of our society.
Communism in Eastern Europe eventually fell thanks to the unrelenting pressure applied by the churches. The abortion issue in the USA is another example of Christians taking the lead on an important social issue and refusing to give up. There are fewer abortions performed today than at any time since it was legalized in 1973, and the Christian community is still fighting to have Roe v Wade overturned. We will not give up.
As I’ve been stressing all month in this series, environmental concerns were a Biblical issue long before they were a political issue. This issue belonged to us, the people of God, long before it belonged to left-wing environmental extremists. The problem is big and complex, and positive change will only occur in small steps over time. But since this is our Father’s world, and since this is a Biblical issue, we the people of God have got to be the leaders helping to bring about the needed change.
Caring for God’s creation is a vitally important issue. But it’s a difficult issue and change will come slowly. Don’t discouraged and don’t get overwhelmed. Just do your part and don’t give up. Tomorrow we will think about how we can help to minimize the impact of pollution on our Father’s world.
Oak Hill Baptist Church