By Bill Parr
“Lord, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.” As I have become older, I find myself praying this all the time. Every day brings us reminders that we live in a very fallen and broken world. This past week, we had a very stark reminder of this when we heard the news of a senseless act of violence that caused a Germanwings airplane to crash into a mountain in the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board. I am still angry and sad as I think about this event – angry that the evil one, the destroyer, still has such great power in the world. And I am sad that all of these lives were ended in such a horrendous way. I grieve that this world is not what it is supposed to be.
This brokenness all around us makes me long for the day when all things will be made right. I want all of this craziness to be over. I am tired of hearing on the evening news that another teenager in Philadelphia was shot dead in a drive-by shooting. I am saddened to hear about another marriage falling apart. I am crushed when I learn that a dear friend has cancer and is not expected to live very much longer. And the list can go on and on.
It sometimes seems that we become numb to all of this and we say to ourselves, “Oh well, it’s too bad, but that’s life”. Well, it is too bad. It’s awful. But that is not the way it is supposed to be.
This last weekend we celebrated Easter. Praise God that Jesus has risen from the dead. Since this is true, everything is not as totally hopeless as it may seem. So we of all people can live in this fallen and broken world with great hope and faith even when the world seems to be crumbling around us. And that hope is all set on the solid rock of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and future return. I long for the day when, as the hymn writer writes, “Oh Lord, haste the day when the faith will be sight”. In Revelation 22:20, the Word says, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon, Amen. Come Lord Jesus!'” I pray for each of you that you will remain faithful as you eagerly await His return to take us home.