Last Days

If you feel like you are getting a bit out of touch with the urgency of the Gospel, read some of Joel Rosenberg's books. It will remind you how our lives are but a vapor and this world we live in is going to see very terrible times in the end.

"To misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blindsided by it."

This quote from Joel Rosenberg's book, "The Last Days," has spurred a series of reflections. Are we ever called to tolerate evil? When God says in Matthew 5:44 to, "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," what exactly did He have in mind... tangibly? I know this may seem a world away, but as I read several books at once (of course!), I know that in the spiritual realm, every battle is connected.

How are we misunderstanding evil in our lives? I really believe that a spiritual battle is being waged, but I wonder what evil I look at and underestimate... that will soon blindside the denial right out of me. I don't think Westerners think enough about the power of God over this evil. Instead we think, "Out of sight, out of mind." The only problem is that ignorance is exactly how Satan quietly gains ground.

I don't think ignorance is bliss. I think ignorance is the misguided calm before the casualty.

sidenote: I went over to Joel Rosenberg's website to check out the man behind the stories and was almost as intrigued by all the news this man is getting as I was with his page-turning fiction.