Rev. Richard FisherAbout 10 years ago I sat with a hospice patient as we watched dire economic predictions on television. The elderly gentleman looked at me and said, "It's not my problem." He did not cause the economic problems; he did not have to solve or even live through the problems. Therefore he concluded, "It's not my problem."
About that same time, a World War II veteran close to death told me, "When I think about all we sacrificed in order to defeat our enemies, and I see what we have now, I wonder whether our sacrifice was worth it."
Many times I have thought about the observations of these two dying men. The first saw new problems the country would face without him; the second wished that our nation enjoyed more enduring benefits from his generation's war victory decades earlier.
Each generation must identify and fight the evils of its own age. We cannot fight the physical and spiritual battles that previous generations fought. Nor can we fight the battles that future generations will have to fight.
To assess and overcome the evils of our age, Psalm 11 is encouraging. In Psalm 11:3, King David asked, "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
Americans have seen many of the biblical foundations of our nation shaken, if not destroyed. Cultural battles are decided not only by armaments, but by ideas, words, deeds, court cases and elections. This is the temporal, earthly perspective.
King David overcame his problems by having an eternal, heavenly perspective. David was designated by God to become king but, for a time, the throne was denied him by Saul. Later, David's rule was threatened by his own son, Absalom. David knew, however, that God's throne is never in jeopardy (Psalm 11:4-7).
God promised David that the savior of the world would descend from him (II Samuel 7). That savior, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, was David's ultimate hope. After rising from the dead, Jesus told his disciples, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18b-20).
One generation dies and is freed of earth's problems. They dreamed of peace and security that are permanently fulfilled only by Christ and only in heaven. A new generation comes to face its own opportunities and tribulations in this world.
Through it all, Christ builds his church. He does this daily as he promised, even in the midst of economic meltdowns, wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, nations rising and falling, false prophets, lawlessness and wickedness and persecution (Matthew 16 and 24).
The eternal God works his perfect plan for his glory and the good of his church. No matter what your age and health are or what you are facing, live by the eternal, heavenly perspective.
The night before he was crucified for our sins, Jesus said to his disciples, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" ( John 16:33).
The Rev. Richard Fisher is president of You Last Forever Ministries and an assistant pastor at First Presbyterian Church.