Mother Earth??

Mother Earth??

by Rocky Fleming

 

“Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks.”

Proverbs 1:20-21 ESV

    I was driving on one of our busiest streets in Bentonville and saw a drive through kiosk on the side of the road with a simple sign advertising, “Drive Through Prayer.”  There was a person that served as a greeter and who welcomed those who would come.  The first thought I had was, “The Church has indeed left the building and is taking it to the marketplace.”  The second thought was a prayer, “Lord bless them and allow them to sow hope to some hopeless people.”   Our time the last several months in the Church and in this country has been difficult and at times extremely difficult.  Hopelessness is being fostered in many ways and to people you would think could stand strong through these tests but don’t.  I do not have to go into the details of it, for everyone has their own story, or the story of someone they care for.  You know the empty, hopeless feeling that tells us our trials will never end, and our circumstances will go from bad to worse?  You hear the angry voices that shout in the street hate and violence toward people who want peace and stability.  You hear of and see destruction with fire, hurricanes, earthquakes, food shortages, floods, and mobs trying to destroy law and order.  I hear explanations that people are just acting out from their frustration and that is why they are stripping stores for plunder, and burning them as they leave and I ask, “Do you have any idea how wrong you are in supporting this?”   Concerning the fires and hurricanes and floods as of late I heard one respected political leader actually say, “Mother Earth is angry.”  She then went on to stump her political agenda on climate control.  Some say that’s just politics.  But I say it is a politician having no idea about the message being given from the Creator of earth to the people of this world and especially this nation.  “Mother Earth” is not a goddess to be worshipped, as some are presenting earth to be.  Earth, like the people on it, is a creation of God and we need to be good stewards and protect it.  That is the truth.  That is a message we can all live with across both isles.  But let’s not take our eyes off who can help with this crisis.  It is not up to mankind.   We play our part.  It is not science-fi strategies that hope to create a utopian environment that will turn it.  It is rather turning back to our Creator for His help and finding peace with Him that will bring healing and change.   Here’s a novel thought?  If you want to go the “mother earth” route, maybe we should look at all the hate, all the violence and anger that is being spread in the name of protecting mother earth, and people’s rights, and whoever opposes another point of view?  See if peace with each other might settle mother earth down.  Mother earth is not acting out.  Our Creator might be acting out, for He likely hates what He is seeing.  We need to listen to Him, and not the anti-God messages that try to make a god out of a planet and worship it as such.   A drive through prayer kiosk is a novel idea, and I hope it will bring great blessings to those who benefit from it and those who serve from it.  I like it for it sows hope and peace and makes people know the power of prayer and the resource that we have in it.  I’d like to see many more creative ideas with how to take the Church and the encouragement Christ gives to people in the marketplace.  We’ve got to become peacemakers.  We got to find peace with God if we are going to find peace with each other.  Will it work?  I don’t know how far reaching its impact will be.  There may be no coming back from the disturbance brought into our land.  But it will work for those people that His message reaches.  They can be helped and that is most on His mind.   So, let’s play our parts in representing the King as He would like for us to do.  Let’s you and I try to do something the politicians can’t seem to pull off.  Let’s become peacemakers.  Let’s deal with people with gentle respect, rather than with an angry reprisal.  For like Jesus said,   “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”  Matthew 5:5   Wisdom is crying in the streets.  Do you hear it?  Will you follow it?