Darkness

The situation is getting worse in this world of ours, with darkness pervading. God will only tolerate this for so long. There are lines being drawn in the sand, call them morals, values, ethics on one side and a blasphemous free for all on the other. I was raised as a Catholic and I am grateful for this upbringing. Honouring God and being reverent toward Him was taught experientially with much kneeling and standing, singing and corporate prayer. I did not realize this at the time and as a reflective adult, it dawns on me what early gifts were bestowed regarding my faith. Then there is The Cross...In the Old Testament, God established a sacrificial system of animals for celebrations, thanksgiving and atonement for sins. Animals without flaw would be slaughtered upon the altar, only the choicest animals were selected. He wanted His people to remember Him, to acknowledge Him and to praise Him for rescuing them from slavery in Eygpt. God wanted His people to be in relationship with Him and in exchange, He was present, spoke to them, was their Heavenly King and He filled the temple with His majesty, causing the people to fall face down in worship and awe. He was and is God Almighty and when people honour Him, He blesses abundantly. The sacrifices were a prelude, a foreshadowing of the final sacrifice. In church, above the altar, I see the cross, Christ crucified there, The Perfect Lamb of God, slain for the sins of the world. Above the altar, the cross is ideally placed as a visual reminder of past requirements and current reality, that we, I, you, cannot possibly do or say or be enough to pay for what we have said and done to ourselves and each other. God in His mercy sent someone to take our place and we are beholden. In a darkened world, the way I speak, the way I love God is repugnant, nonsensical and ridiculed and I ask, how is what is happening ok, acceptable and laudable? Humans, left to their own devices, are inclined to self adorning, idolizations and exactly what is currently happening all around us, Godless fearless rape, murder, and vile Satanic indulgence. There, I said it, Satanic. Now let's distill this further and personalize it. You are insulted, You say I am NOT a rapist, murderer or Satan worshiper, how dare she Include me in her rant? What is your sin than? Are you a liar, a cheat, gluttonous, alcoholic, abusive, lazy even? Come on now, you know yourself, what is your brand of poison?  Evil, darkness, they are as I said earlier, pervasive. Am I speaking a foreign language here or do you comprende? Let's go back to The Bible. We are no different from our predecessors. Evil is ancient and we are perpetually in a loop of behaviours and it is only a matter of time before the stop watch button is pressed and the count down is on. God is long on patience and slow to anger giving us a Grace period of choice. The sky is falling, yes indeed it is and I am ok with being one of many sounding the alarm, time is short. If this writing stirs you, perhaps you too sense what I do? Dark is getting darker, Bright is getting Blindingly Bright...the line in the sand is drawn.