March 7, 2013 (Thursday)
“If fear is cultivated it will become stronger;if faith is cultivated it will achieve mastery”―John Paul Jones
John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962, during a flight lasting about 5 hours.
I recall one of his press conferences afterward in which he recalled “parking” his pencil in mid-air because of the weightless state. He remarked about how easily and quickly we humans adjust to new circumstances in which it seems perfectly natural to do something that was impossible before that moment.
We don’t always adjust to change so easily.
The world has moved on and left many of us standing out in the “cold” wringing our hands in despair because nothing is the same anymore. I have news for ourselves: “It never was.” The world is changing. We must get used to it.
Christians in the First Century world found themselves a persecuted minority, nailed to crosses, thrown to wild animals in an entertainment arena, cursed, degraded and killed for their faith. Their world had changed, and they had no choice but to face it. So they did. Fearlessly. Courageously. Without compromise of their faith.
We, too, face a changing world, but it shouldn’t change us. We can still hold firmly to our beliefs. We can love the Lord with all our hearts. We can serve Him faithfully. We can remain true to Him. We don’t live in the 19th Century. This is our world, today. In such a world, God calls us to remain faithful to Him.