Point Of View

They cry out against the creation of alternative energy sources because, through the dark glass, they can see that mankind will use those alternative energy sources to kill other men and not better the human race.

They cry out against the harvesting of trees because they see the possibility that mankind will bring about his own demise through the loss of the heat resisting layer of ozone in the atmosphere.

They cry out against those who would try to bring justice for some people because they also see the possibility that the conflict will only spread into the Armageddon battle that they know can happen.

While I understand their concerns and I know that the problems they see are very real, I cannot maintain their point of view that mankind can solve his problems through conservation and science. Mankind cannot overcome the will of God no matter how hard he tries. They are placing their hope on their own power and not upon the power of God. Their only hope is to save the planet, or to build a better mousetrap. That kind of hope may create better gadgets but it will never create a brighter tomorrow.

But I do have to give them some credit for at least trying to look deeper into the dark glass of the future and do something to make things better. If I had their point of view I would probably be doing the same thing.

It’s better to make an effort to better the future, even if it isn’t very good, than to sit around and take a fatalistic point of view and say, like one old song by Doris Day, “Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. The future’s not ours to see. Que sera, sera.

This is the point of view like those who live in the valley. They can hear the thunder in the distance, but they can’t see over the mountain. That mountain is the daily life that they live, filled with its demands and troubles. Most people can’t see past today and they don’t want to because they have enough trouble for now. Don’t load anymore on them!

Now let’s look at the Point of View for those who use the “eyes of the Spirit”. What do they see for the coming New Year and for the future of mankind?

The point of view of a Born Again Christian is two-fold. We look into that same dark glass that the rest of mankind sees and we see pretty much the same thing that they do through the eyes of the flesh.

We see the calamities that are just ahead. We see the storms arising and we can hear the thunder roll. We are in the same world as the rest of mankind and we can feel the uneasiness of a shaky peace between warring nations. We can sense the foreboding of the unknown future that doesn’t carry much hope for the survival of mankind from self-destruction. We know that mankind faces some much darker days just ahead, and like most of mankind, we know that there is little that we can do to change the future because we know that in the end, that’s exactly what the Word of God says will happen.

Our point of view is not one that denies the depravity of mankind. We do not subscribe to the opinion that mankind can build a better world tomorrow and create a Utopian society. We do not believe that life will get better and become easier. In fact, we, of all people, are absolutely convinced that there is no hope for this world or for mankind that dwells in it. We know that the only true hope for mankind is to get prepared to leave this world and meet God for not one man will survive in the end. If all we had was that single part of our vision, then we would be as fatalistic and hopeless as the rest of mankind.