Sometimes you have to see the alternative before you understand how good that God really is. New York is a type of Sodom and Gomorrah if not a full-blown recreation of it. Mankind from age to age continually builds and rebuilds the institutions that represent good and evil. These institutions no doubt represent the battle between God and Satan.
I love the way all along the Bible tells you the epic story of good vs. evil and how we fit into it. God tells us the truth of this life and he shows us a way toward being saved from it. On the spiritual and non-visible level we know that God had a plan from the beginning to vanquish evil (Genesis 3:15-And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel). On the purely physical level we know from a young age that we have freedom to choose a good or a bad action. Our family, community, and nations reflect those chooses.
I know how Noah felt as he built his boat. He saw the evil increase and amid this he was trying to build a safe haven for the things of God. I also think he longed to escape from all the evil around him. There came a time when God told him that it was time to get into that boat and be saved. Noah may not have understood everything going on as he tried to follow God’s will but, as time went on, things became clear.
It is a funny thing when you see biblical truths unfolding in your own life. I can scarcely believe how the Bible stories have been my story over and over again. Why should I be surprised? Wasn’t it King Solomon, the wise king who said that there is nothing new under the sun? We think or would like to think that our life is so unique. Yet, we live in the sea of humanity where situations continually repeat themselves.
I find my time in Westchester County readily explainable by comparisons with the story of Lot, or the story of Noah. Because, in those stories we see believer’s lives intruded upon by the deep and scarlet stain of sin which only Jesus can clean. What was it that attracted Lot and his family to the places of Sodom and Gomorrah. His wife could not help but look back. Perhaps, even though it was full of evil goings-on it also had the best food, entertainment and amenities.
For me, I was searching for the best school systems and quality of life for my family. I thought the best SAT scores and Ivy League admissions rates were worth my move to Westchester. Little did I see what was coming. A school system that would utterly reject as evil the Judeo-Christian ethic and instead turn its’ students into walking/talking Marxist agitators. I found myself fighting battles that were continually going against me. It was clear that people utterly rejected God and had knowingly put other things on the throne that goes to our God.
Yes, Westchester County was a close commute to New York City making it close to work locations and cultural amenities. I thought New York was the center of the universe until I made Jesus the center of my universe. The attitude that I have ran into in Westchester County is of a people proud of rejecting the institutions and moral values of all that is holy. There is an arrogance that comes along with this attitude. “Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children”-Matthew 27:25.
After a lifetime of living in New York, I have had enough. Every time that I traveled to locations with a higher concentration of believers I would ask God if I should move to that location. I always felt that the answer was no. I fervently believed and still do that God had called me to spread the gospel on a daily basis in New York. Yet, as the events of the past year unfolded, I felt that God had finally called me out of this environment. My husband had finally seen this same vision of change and we began to think and contemplate a move. Where would it be? Also, we are not exactly the adventurous types, so stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment