Life is a Pair of Ducks

 Is it still okay to say it’s not okay?

What I mean to say with my duck analogy is, of course, that life is a paradox. The life of a Christian is definitely ducky. We live in perfect peace while fighting against the devil, temptation, and even own inner selves. We accept that we’re wretched in our lost condition, an enemy of God. And then just like that we’re washed clean and we’re called friends of God. We’re weak, but made strong in Christ. We are most helpless, but never hopeless. We worship a poor carpenter who was born in a barn and died on a cross, knowing that He is King in our hearts and King of the world. We’re destined for Hell, but we’re going to Heaven. We must stand strong against the evil surrounding us. And we must humbly offer Christ to those standing against us.

I saw a post on social media proclaiming that “if Christianity is to survive in America, then it is time we start standing up and speaking out against people and organization that disrespect us!” Now, I may have some friends and followers who liked this post and shared it. I get it—good Christian people are fed up and demanding equal voice. Or at least a little validation that they matter as much as anyone. It’s okay to speak up—we still have that right. But what we get is a “sit down and shut up” attitude from media and popular opinion. And we Christians are feeling, what…left out? Can we really expect the approval of this world?

Okay, we should stand up for certain rights. I will stand for the rights of the smallest human beings, even if they’re not born yet. For the rights of common normalcy, even if being normal is out of fashion. For the right to freedom, even if it’s edging away. While I’m standing, I’ll consider that for every unborn human in danger, there’s a mother who needs godly council. I’ll keep in mind that normal doesn't necessarliy constitute righteousness. I’ll remember that my guarantee of freedom by the rulers of the land is temporary. My only true freedom comes by the blood of Christ. And so I will stand for the rights of the lost to hear the message of the Gospel, even if they consider it foolishness.

But there’s a duck in the pond claiming I have no rights. I’m bought and paid for. I belong to Christ. I’m waiting patiently in a dark place for my Redeemer’s light to break through. I have no fear of being left in darkness, or of not getting my due respect on Planet Earth. I can’t change anything and I don’t want to gripe about it anymore. I don’t care who uses the bathroom at Target. I’m pretty sure I don’t have the right to modern, proper, or even private facilities. Most people around the world aren’t so fortunate. It’s just one of many rights we only think we possess, and I'm willing to give it up.

As soon as I say that, the other duck swims my way, quacking about a serious issue that is not being addressed. In our post-modern world there is a call for total acceptance of every deviation. No good end will come from regarding each pulse of carnal self-awareness, because that pulse is rebellion against God and it knows no limit. For example, gender identity draws our attention, and it’s not foreign to me because it has affected a member of my family. As a believer, I must stand for God’s purposeful design in creating both male and female. Even so, at times I might declare a ceasefire and lay down my right to be right in light of someone else’s need for redemption.

Can I preserve my right to share the truth? Can I fearlessly fight for what the Word of God tells me is right? I think I can. If God encourages me to fight, I’ll fight. If He impresses a silent war of prayer, then I’ll pray. The law can’t govern how I pray, or to whom I pray. It can’t stop me from speaking or writing or thinking. (Or voting!) At least, not where I live. Not yet. In some distant lands, the law comes down strong on people who dare to speak the truth. But I belong to a great King. This is His world and He will right all wrong. He’s the only One who can change a life. We can’t transform ourselves, no matter how hard we try. Sure, it gets confusing sometimes, but nevermind the ducks. Follow the King.

 

How Things Have Changed Since That Day

 

Twenty-five years ago today, I headed out in my car to run a few errands. A couple of hundred feet from my driveway, I turned around. The solemn voice on the radio indicated something terrible was happening. I spent the day in front of the television. My husband called me, and we wondered if our son, who’d left for England only a few days earlier, knew that passenger jets were crashing into buildings. 

Later, I picked up our daughter at middle school. She’d been watching the TV, too. And 
then we all watched it for days. We watched the planes hit, watched the towers fall, over and over again. As if staring at it would somehow change things.

The weeks that followed brought a minor cultural shift. I call it minor because it was not meant to last. It was born of fear and sorrow. People gathered in patriotism. They mourned as Americans. They went to church. They stitched up what they could in their broken, posturing dreams. They proclaimed in unison, “Never forget!”

And then they forgot.

A lasting change occurs not by anxious reactions, but with patient expectation. It happens over decades. It leads to good—the founding of a nation, the abolishment of slavery, the protection of the innocent, human rights, advances in commerce, industry, healthcare, education, communication. But sometimes what begins as a climb toward improvement drops us into a more broken existence. With patient expectation, democracy twists into socialism, elections bring communists to power, anger rules, violence is tolerated, immorality is normalized, and the law of the land, perhaps, just gives up. 

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light
 and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20

 OK, so I’m firmly planted in my Christian worldview. I still have that right. I’m looking back at what God once ordained for this unprecedented nation. It’s the will of the people, apparently, that has changed the view looking forward. So be it. But the building of a great nation, or its downfall, is no accident. God isn’t surprised.

Any cultural shift contrary to God’s plan does not immediately deliver us to a destination, but to a doorway. As our nation slips away from its origin, the degeneration, for some people, is scarcely noticeable. The doorway slowly opens to grievous acceptability. The destination is where God becomes irrelevant.

Are we there yet?

If one bright hope for the future in the land of the free should stand, let it be that the truth of the gospel is not silenced. The USA has reached the world with the message of redemption, and now that message must be remembered and spoken within our own transforming nation. In the land of the false, the truth is still true.

May we never forget it.