Mathew 13:31-34

Dale Eland
Dale Eland

Over the last while, my observation of how corrupted and depraved human nature has become, the more disillusioned I found myself becoming. Bombings, theft, assault, murders, crime, arrogance. I have found myself asking the question, "Lord, are there even 10 righteous people?" I have heard people say that they will not have kids because the world is such a terrible place how could we deliberately want anyone born into this time? What future will these kids have?

Yet, amongst the rubble, hidden, awaiting its time, I do see tiny saplings of hope planted into this "impossible" soil, growing, taking root, reproducing themselves. How is this even possible? Along the route, the most amazing people have been planted into the most impossible situations and are quietly growing, taking root, reproducing God's Kingdom.

While there is a mass exodus from the "church structures" as we know them, at the same time there is a "new church" growing quietly, concealed, yet purposefully within these impossible environments. The Kingdom structure has taken hold within the spheres of business, media, government, education, finance and many other areas of society. This "undercover" church has the flexibility to engage, change and regroup very effectively and is taking ground that was previously believed to be "impossible" for anything good to come out of it.

The fact that China will soon be the largest Christian nation on earth stands testimony to this. Many examples of Christians influencing people and nations towards Christlikeness are being heard of, particularly in traditional non-Christian countries. Both the Australian and British Prime Ministers have acknowledged that their countries are Christian, expressing that the influence of Christians will benefit their nations. Let's hope we can live up to that high expectation and not be part of the statistics that show there is no difference in Christian versus non-Christian living.

In a temple of ruins, the forest has a way of reclaiming the ground in a way that creates beauty and inspires awe. Dare we be that sapling planted in impossible situations bringing hope and change to all that was believed to be lost and hopeless? CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.