My heart breaks as I see the man — gasping for breath, pleading for help, calling for his mother.
My heart breaks as I see the nation — descending into violence, going up in flames, tearing itself apart.
My heart breaks as I see the world — ravaged by disease, polluted with injustice, corrupted by sin.
Everybody is looking for the answer. Everybody is seeking lasting peace. Everybody is watching and waiting for deliverance. Corruption and injustice abound for “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). The wickedness of men is great and the earth is filled with violence, for men’s hearts are evil and we have corrupted our way (Genesis 6:5, 11). Creation is in bondage to corruption (Romans 8:21), and the spiritual forces of evil are constantly scheming (Ephesians 6:12). As a believer, I would be remiss if I pointed to anything less than Jesus Christ and His cross as the ultimate answer to every problem, the supreme source of peace in the midst of chaos, and the God-given means of our deliverance from every evil of this world.
God’s Word gives voice to the oppressed, the afflicted, the abused, maltreated and crushed: “Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!” (Psalm 43:1). God’s Word gives answer to their call: “‘Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,’ says the Lord; ‘I will place him in the safety for which he longs’” (Psalm 12:5). And God’s Word charges us to “loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke” (Isaiah 58:6). We open our mouths against injustice; we call evil out for what it is; we give voice to the voiceless; we defend the rights of poor and needy (Proverbs 31:8–9). But above all, we open our mouths and preach Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2).
We remember the greatest injustice ever done was perpetrated by humanity against the Son of God: wrongfully accused, unjustly condemned, hated and murdered without cause. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:3–5).
We recognize that without the regenerative power of God's Spirit at work in us, our hearts remain as stone: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). And we understand that the supreme victory over the world lies in Jesus Christ: “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4–5). The gospel changes nations by changing lives, and it changes lives by changing hearts. But more importantly, the gospel delivers us. It promises us deliverance from a broken world, from wicked men, and from the evil inside ourselves.
See the man — pinned to the cross, gasping for breath, crying out to His Father.
See the nation — rejecting His love, spurning His sacrifice, scoffing at His death.
See the world — loving the darkness, suppressing the truth, worshipping a lie…
Divine justice is coming. God help us all.