How should Christians respond when they see our way of life threatened and our nation divided and at a crossroad? How do we respond to riots in our major cities, police being attacked and gunned down in our streets, fires consuming hundreds of homes and thousands of acres on the west coast, and mandated masks to ward off a deadly, invisible enemy?  Is the election of a president or a congress the answer? Does science have the answer for all these problems? Can we look to academia or the media for answers? If not, what is the answer?

Jesus Christ is the answer. He is the only answer. He alone can give inner peace and calm fears. He alone can bring unity from deep divisions in our land. Until He comes to take His church out of this sin-besotted world, we are told to “occupy ‘til He comes” (Luke 19:13). What does He mean by “occupy ‘til He comes?” We are to live (occupy) as salt and light in this world. How do we do that?  Salty lives begin with our own need for revival. Here’s what King David wrote in Psalm 143: 11, “For the sake of Thy name, O Lord, revive me. In Thy righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.” Did you catch that? Revive me. Like the old negro spiritual declared, “Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, O Lord, standin’ in the need of prayer.”

Personal revival starts with a deep conviction of our own sinfulness. Before we look outward, we must look inward. Conviction moves us to cry out to God in prayer. We humbly, honestly confess our sins to God and ask for His forgiveness. We repent by changing how we think and live. We come to our senses and begin to live differently than the world around us. Finally we call out to God to fill us with His Holy Spirit and give us His power to witness, serve, and love the lost around us (Acts 4:23-31). We can’t change the world but we can change our corner of it.

Yes, the world is in trouble. Yes, there are natural disasters bombarding our land. Yes, the pandemic persists. Yes, evil abounds but in the face of evil the church must be in a deep, abiding, pure relationship with Christ. He alone is the Answer. He alone can bring unity and heal our wounds as a nation.

Jesus is the answer for the world today and Christians are called to be His ambassadors as salt and light. To do that we must experience revival.

Irv