“Perhaps”

2/27/2018

I Was Thinking…

Someone once said “The struggles we hide are the struggles that consume us.” I have often pondered the truth within those words. It is true that ‘when we are honest with ourselves we are then free to be honest with everyone else’. Once we admit what we are, what other criticism can possibly demean us or undo us or diminish us?

As you know within the last week we have had another school shooting killing 17 High School students. We also have lost one of the great evangelists of all time…Rev. Billy Graham. Somehow I think the timing of these two news-worthy events should to be noted.

In 1949 Billy Graham preached a series of tent revivals in Los Angeles, California that launched him onto the international scene. The world was hungry for the Gospel. Thousands of persons were reached, healed, redeemed…saved from themselves and from destroying all those around them. What was it about Billy Graham that caught the eye of so many? Certainly it was the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its compelling nature but I also think the genuine man that proclaimed such a message gave the hearing a greater chance of being heard. Why have Presidents from Truman to Obama desired an audience with Billy Graham? Perhaps it was because of their realization that they were limited in their abilities to address the vastness of the world’s challenges. Perhaps they too were hungry for something that even the Presidency of the United States could not fulfill. Having reached the pinnacle of power…it was not all they deemed it would be and thus spiritual guidance was an imminent hunger for them.

What does the Parkland School shooting have to do with Billy Graham? Perhaps in such tragic darkness a light is being shone on a deep hunger in our world. Perhaps whether we are for gun control or not; increased mental illness dollars or not; the answer lies in a place of a different understanding. Perhaps we are seeing disease of the soul that is wreaking havoc in our world. Perhaps we need some tent revivals and some bold proclamation that may or may not seem politically correct. Perhaps we need a savior that transcends political, economic and religious preference. Perhaps we need to revisit the purpose of the church which is to reach the world for Christ not to be a social club for its members. Perhaps we need to let the truth of the consequences of evil that burst forth in painfully devastating ways pierce our hearts to the point where we ask ourselves the question “What can I do to proclaim Christ to my acre of the world? Where do I need healing? Where am I struggling? Where do I need to be honest with myself?”

Once we are in the place of honesty…as a person and as a people…Perhaps it is then that the truth shall set us free…perhaps!

Always Thinking…