By Ryan Kelly –

What a time we are in.  2020 started off rough enough with wildfires in Australia, then it increased pain and fear to the max with COVID-19.  Then, after loss of life and significant economic devastation, we now are experiencing reflections of the pain of sinful prejudice against our fellow brothers and sisters.  What is next you may ask?  Only God knows…

There is one very important unifying theme among all of these sources of pain, though.  They are all the result of sin…a reminder of the fallen state of creation and humanity due to our rebellion against God.

When the Lord created the Garden, it was perfect and contained no natural problems of any sort.  Animals lived in harmony, fruit grew in abundance with no work required, and there was no concept of disease or even death.  It was only through our desire to become like God that we introduced sin into this world.

This sin has manifest itself into a variety of horrible actions and thoughts that we experience on a daily basis.  Racism is simply the result of this sin and the desire for the evil one to separate brother from brother, sister from sister.  The more divided we are, the easier we are for him to capture.

It is only through the blood of Jesus that we can be set free from our sin and overcome the problems of the world.  There is no law or policy than can possibly cure what ails the heart.  But together, standing hand-in-hand, we unite under the banner of Jesus Christ and spread His light and love throughout this world.  Together, through Christ, we are witnesses to all that the Lord has already conquered sin and death through the work of our Lord Jesus on the cross.

Let us not lose sight of the only message that is important – the good news of Jesus.  In the end, it is the only message that truly matters…that truly saves.