At a little past 12 today my granddaughter Jenny Vaughan who lives with her husband Tom and their 2 children in Lynchburg, Va., called my son in David who is a Pastor in Fairfax, Va., to tell him our friend Jerry Falwell was taken to the hospital gravely ill. A short time later he died and David called me and we talked briefly about his passing. It was a sad event...in a way. Jerry went home.
Sad, yet not unexpected for those of us who knew him and of his health problems recently. Jerry was terribly overweight and obviously his heart could no longer take it. I showed my wife Pat a picture of Jerry me and another good friend, Tommy Trammell in my office in 1980. Jerry was about 110 lbs lighter in the photo...looked good. I was lighter too. I am going to lose more weight.
Jerry Falwell and I were never close friends. He and Tommy were; they were best men at each other's weddings. But we knew each other and we respected each other even though I disagreed with him openly when he carried the ball passed to him by Bob Billings, former UnderSecretary of Education, another friend, and started the Moral Majority. I feared a serious backlash eventually against Christianity in the country which would severely affect our witness and ability to win people to Christ. MY FEARS ARE BEING REALIZED TODAY!
Christianity is so fragmented today one must ask the question "will the real Christianity please stand up!"
Oh I know people in certain groups will dissagree. Charismatic groups claim millions of converts all over the world and Evangelical "mega" Churches have sprung up like Day Lilies everywhere, yet I still must ask "if so many are being converted to Christ why is there less and less Christian influence in the world"? For anyone to say there is a greater Godly influence in the affairs of men today than 45 years ago is like saying the moon is moving out into space. It just "aint so"! And I'm sure I do not need to ennumerate the ungodly things that are not just accepted today but actually promoted as almost normal.
We are living in the age prophesied of by Isaiah in 700 B.C. when he wrote "beware [of the day] when men shall call evil good, and good evil".
The truth is...you cannot legislate Godliness or even goodness, let alone morality. Every attempt throughout history of changing secular and civil living by taking over governmental reigns has failed. Savonarola tried to do it in the corrupt Republican city state of Florence in the 1480's and 90's but while he was successful for a time, fickle sinful mankind in time ceased following the Preacher and like a dog returning to its own vomit reasserted itself and hanged then burned Savonarola to ashes.
Look at the Geneva Experiment, and Modern Germany, France, the Netherlands, England with its Puritans, our own country from Puritan Colonial times to now. It simply never works. It can never work...it never was meant to be that way in the first place! Christianity was not designed by its founder to change the world from without. It was to change men from within. It was meant to be an influence within society. It was to be like leaven permeating a whole from within. Let your influence be seen and felt...not in overt acts or demonstrations, but the godly influence of Godliness in character and conduct.
Perception is Reality! That's the way mankind thinks. How are Christians perceived today? With scandles and divisions among Christians along with the lack of a distinctive difference in dress, music, manners and overall appearance that is the norm in our churches and in public, the world of men have little good and Godly influence today. They just do not see it.
Jerry Falwell was a giant of a man, and I am not being facetious. His faith was real and he was true to his faith and his Lord. I believe that. I knew the man. He always spoke of raising champions for Christ and was the example of what a champion was. Even his enemies must bear witness to his faithfulness of mission. Dissagree, sure, but question his zeal and unfailing loyalty to purpose, never! Would to God we all go out that way.
These have been Firstcoastmusings. I am Gerald Stokes
Jacksonville, Florida
Check out my other blog: www.geraldstokes.blogspot.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment