I am concerned about the state of Australia. In the past, it was the importance of the national interest that took precedence, but it is now the comfort of the individual. The “selfie” signifies self-preoccupation. So too do voting patterns that reveal many are concerned more about personal interests than national security.
So long as the Nanny State provides for their every need, many leave the important decisions to politicians who should know best but don’t. They care most for status and reelection.
That megachurches cater to this attitude is apparent in the topics preached by pastors, who dwell mostly on how better they can live, how happier they can be, and how richer they can become. Issues such as abortion and corruption are rarely addressed. When church gatherings are placed in the forefront and evangelism second place, Go and Tell has been replaced by Come and See. Millennials accept all this as normal and accept practices that move merchandise more than hearts — although this appears to be changing.
Here’s a test. Go out of your air-conditioned home into the midday heat and give some thought to the pioneers of our country, who explored and settled it, swatting away blowflies and wearing flannel shirts to soak up their sweat and cool their overheated bodies.
Think of the sacrifices made by wives left alone in sweltering heat while their husbands drove cattle long distances to railheads. Think of droughts and locust plagues, racing grass fires, and the raging bush fires. Those hardy people were preparing homes for their children but many today think more of themselves, comforts, and entitlements.
This is also apparent in the US, where identity politics has replaced national pride. (Remember Uncle Sam and Old Glory?) The answer for Americans and Australians is for both nations to rise to a new and higher kind of life by being “born from above” — ‘born again’ — by the Spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Then to then live the Christian life by walking it instead of just talking it.
This is the Faith by which civilization spread through the nations and around the globe. Not a religion in the mind but an experience in the heart. “Anyone in union with Christ is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
It’s difficult to describe the amazing change and elevating lift that takes place in the life of those who believe in and also receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. It’s a decision, one that can bring God’s blessing on nations. It’s personal, of course, and yours alone to make. I pray that you have the courage to make it, as both Lorraine and I did, and our now adult children did, and so many others have done and will do. Make sure that you do too because it’s the most important decision that anyone can ever make.