Time Is NOT On Our Side

"Whether you like it or not, history is on our side.  We will bury you!"  --Nikita Khrushchev

 Satan must be a patient person.  For each time of renewal and revival throughout history, it is forgotten within one generation.  From the moment of creation until now, we not only forget ourselves, we forget the God who made us, who redeemed us, who loves us with an undying love.

We do not know how long Adam enjoyed Eden.  It could have been years.  Imagine living in an earthly paradise, working with God as your mentor, knowing that whatever your question or problem or need, God would provide.  Yet in time Eve let the serpent wear her down, convincing her that God was not providing knowledge, whether good or evil.  She offered to Adam, who was also convinced.  They discovered that God had protected them from sin and evil, but no more.  They were the last humans to know God's perfect plan for earth.

Abraham was given the promise of God that through his son Isaac a great nation would come.  Isaac, whom the Bible calls the Son of Promise (see Galatians 4:23) must have known that his mother was past her child-bearing years when he was born.  This same Isaac participated in an act of sacrifice with his father Abraham--he was bound and  placed upon the altar; he watched, probably terror-stricken, as his father raised a knife above his heart; he saw the angel stay his father's hand.  Genesis 22:8 states, "Abraham said, 'God will provide himself a lamb'."  And so he did, there in the thicket beside the altar where Isaac had lain, and also millenia later on a mountain outside Jerusalem called Calvary.  Yet in Genesis 25:21, we see that "Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless."

Isaac's grandson Joseph rose to prominence in Egypt, acting as the Prime Minister, second only to Pharaoh himself, because of his ability to interpret dreams.  His administration of Egypt's resources helped that country survive a seven year drought.  Many neighboring nations, including the sons of Israel, were drawn to Egypt to buy food.  Isaac's family emigrated to Egypt, and the nation multiplied there.  Notwithstanding the awesome power of God evident in Joseph, Exodus 1:8 says, "Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt."  This new leader felt threatened by the multiplied descendants of Jacob, and enslaved them.

Jump ahead to the birth of our Savior.  Jesus' birth, though humble, was marked by angelic hosts singing praises to God in the hearing of shepherds.  It was memorialized by wise men from the east who proclaimed Him King.  Yet by the time he was 30 years old when He began His earthly ministry, only Mary his mother remembered His grand entrance into this world.

And so it goes.  A generation ago, evangelist Billy Graham was invited into the White House to minister to a long succession of US Presidents.  Today President Obama tries to quell worldwide unrest by saying, "I am a muslim."  He may be trying to be like John F. Kennedy, who went to Germany in 1963 and said "Ich bin ein Berliner".  Kennedy was voicing support for West Germany as they fought against the communists who had taken over East Germany.  It was the beginning of the Cold War.  Obama's attempt to mirror that, however, falls short on many levels: he is trying to end a war with ISIS, not start one; he is identifying himself with a religion, not a people or a political party.  The man who said in his campaign in 2003 that he was a Christian now identifies with Islam, not because of a conversion but rather in some ham-handed attempt to garner ecumenical support against a war he has no control over.  It is like a beauty pageant contestant wishing for World Peace.

But I digress.  Thank God that although He is the same yesterday, today and forever, we also know that "every morning His mercies are new." (Lamentations 3:23).  To each generation that has forgotten what has gone on before, God re-introduces Himself in miraculous ways.  I pray that this generation will look up to Him, and see Him for who He really is.  Because this generation may be the last one before Judgement.