Humanity Isn’t Fixing This

“God isn’t Fixing This” was perhaps one the most shocking headline of yesterday’s news cycle.  Instead of twitter platitudes, the powers-that-be at the Daily News want real action. They want a real response to the San Bernardino shooting. They want to end these tragedies once and for all by pulling every gun off the shelf.

And to some degree the Daily News is right to focus on humanity. God didn’t create this mess. We did. For decades, America has championed Darwinism, postmodern ethics, and the beauty of egotism. The result of this narcissistic cocktail has been despair, poverty, and corruption. When life is deemed to be meaningless, people start live that way. We shouldn’t be shocked.

But, no one enjoys despair. Quite naturally, people long for significance in the midst of an insignificant universe. And since Camus taught that postmodern significance is awarded by the historical record, people often pursue meaning through tragedy. It’s easy, quick, and terribly effective.  And though the shooters’ names slowly disappear from public consciousness, the families hurt by the shooters will never forget them. In short, the mass murders get something most never see: notoriety. They get meaning, recognition, that transcends their lifespan.

While the problem is a human problem, the solution is not. Humanity cannot save itself. The people of this earth can’t even go a year without a war. Since the days of Plato, we’ve been trying to educate ourselves into peace and happiness. We have yet to get there. If we do pass legislation, if do we take away the guns, we will not have fixed our problem. People will just use knives or turn to even more deadly explosives. We need real meaning; we need intrinsic value; we need true hope. No political personality can give us these things.

They can only be found in God. In the creation account, we learn that the world is not pointless and that men and women have value. Yet, that purpose comes with righteous demands. God prescribes morality. He shows us holiness and perfection. He shows us how to be happy.  If we embrace Jesus as our Lord and savior, we can have significance.

But we don’t;  we reject God; and, we suppress the truth (Rom. 1:18). And so God abandons us. He leaves us to suffer apart from Him.

And now, we endure mass murders, high prison rates, and racial tension, because we think we are smarter than the creator of the universe. God isn’t fixing our problems because we don’t want him to. We don’t want to submit to his rules that call us to put the needs of others before our own. We don’t want to praise God instead of man. We don’t want to stop sinning. We don’t want to change. We don’t want to conform to his word. We are desperate for him to conform to our words.

If we want God to fix our problem, we must embrace him. And I don’t mean that we need to restart school prayer or outlaw gay marriage. Though those things aren’t bad, we must embrace him on a personal level. We must repent of our sins. Yes, you and I must repent of our sexual immorality, of our prideful comments, and of our self-worship. You and I must “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” You and I must, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled” (Psalm 2:11). Yes, worshiping Jesus will challenge the very way we think, the very essence of who we are. But obedience to God brings true life, joy, and happiness. The creator of the world knows how people find true significance. And invites us to come have significance by believing the Jesus redeems the world through his death on the cross.  It’s it really a sacrifice to exchange misery for joy. And when we do embrace Christ, He will begin to fix our problems. He will begin to make us loving. As the Psalmist writes: “Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Psalm 2:12).

Are we ready for God to start fixing our problems?