Happy New Year

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” Even though Charles Dickens penned this over 100 years ago you might think he was talking about today for many of us.
We also know that we live in very confounding times. I am reminded of the scripture in Romans 1 that says, “professing to be wise they became fools”. At a time when knowledge is increasing so rapidly and “miraculous” discoveries in science, technology and medicine are happening at record pace, we seem to be foolish in so many ways. Our traditional family values are eschewed for a nuanced depravity that would have made our grandparents fighting mad. We have thrown out our moral compass for a defective GPS. Yet, in spite of the darkness and despair that surrounds us, there is hope and light. Corrie Ten Boom was sent to a Nazi Prison camp because her family hid Jewish people in their homes during the holocaust (she wrote the autobiographical book, “The Hiding Place”). Her sister and father died in captivity and she was asked how she made it through the horrific experience. She said that when she looked outward she was distressed, when she looked inward she was depressed, but when she looked at Jesus she had rest.