/ Christmas / Kit Swartz

Peace on Earth

A Culture at War with God

No human being can hold a beachball under water indefinitely. Sooner or later, the buoyancy of the beachball will overcome the stamina of the person holding it down. Moral truth is the same. Sooner or later, those suppressing the truth in unrighteousness will be unable to hold it down any longer. Truth will manifest itself again and righteousness will follow in its wake. In human history, this is known as “revival” and includes such events as The First Great Awakening in America which brought spiritual liberty and led to the pursuit of political freedom. Note the connection and the order of these two blessings. True revival is not the pitiful imitation created by man but the genuine outpouring of the Spirit of God applying the work of Christ by crucifying lies and sin and by resurrecting truth and righteousness with the result of peace and joy. Lord Jesus, please send a fresh outpouring of Your Spirit to us soon, quickly and powerfully!

The current suppression of the self-evident truths of sexuality and gender in the unrighteousness of perverse diversity and the cruelty of genital mutilation is unsustainable. These things will eventually and inevitably end. Pretend marriages, make-believe families and ruined bodies will become sad relics of our present darkness. The creational and natural truth of human, heterosexual, monogamous and covenanted marriages bearing the fruit of children out of deep roots of natural love will again resurface as true, right and good.

As certain as this revival is, it will probably not happen soon. Unfortunately, many lives will be ruined and many lawsuits for various kinds of malpractice will be pursued before this foolishness runs its course. We may need to endure seventy years of cultural captivity and perhaps even centuries of political slavery but, inevitably, truth will prevail and righteousness will be established. Perhaps our current darkness will end with the final revival in the return of Christ, His permanent destruction of all evil, His complete salvation of all who love Him and His full and eternal renewal of all creation. Then, finally, there will be peace on earth as there is in heaven.

Yes, Virginia, there is a God. He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and loyalty. He is patient with human rebellion, wanting people to repent and be saved. He sent His only begotten Son for this purpose as so many Christmas carols celebrate. But, for those who reject His love in Jesus and persevere in suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, there is only the justice of destruction so that there will be peace on earth.

Listen to His voice in the midst of the howling wilderness of our culture. Yield to the stirring of your conscience in resonance with the truth. Turn from your sin to the righteousness of God in Christ. May your Christmas be merry in His mercy and your year be new in His grace so that His peace will sustain you in life and in death, in resurrection and in judgment both now and forever. Amen.

Kit Swartz is retired from 40 years of pastoral ministry in the Oswego, NY RPC and is currently retreaded for ministry in the Fulton, NY RPC. This article was submitted as a letter to the editor in our local papers, The Palladium-Times (Oswego, NY) and The Valley News (Fulton, NY).