A Call To The Remnant

Many years ago I watched a documentary about the rise of the third Reich. One of the women they interviewed said something I will never forget. It was in the 60s so it was more than 20 years after the war ended. She was asked why she had supported Hitler and why she attended the rallies and why she was so fanatical about him. She said the following “there was something in the atmosphere and we all breathed it in.” It was such an honest profound answer and in fact it was a spiritual answer even if she was unaware of that fact.

I remember when I was a teenager in Scotland. I had never been to a Celtic v Rangers game. This game was legendary. They were both Glasgow teams and the rivalry went back over one hundred years. There was an added element to their rivalry, in fact this was the major distinction of the two teams. Celtic was a “Catholic,” team and Rangers was a “Protestant,” team. This religious element only heightened the hatred between the two sets of fans. The “atmosphere,” at the game was supposed to be brilliant, such was the passion between the two sets of fans. I went to my first game when I was about 18. I discovered the atmosphere was one of sheer hatred. Even although I was completely neutral, I felt myself getting swept up in the “atmosphere.”

Today we are living in an atmosphere of hatred. One might argue, correctly, that rivalry between different groups such as blacks and whites, straight and gays, liberals and conservatives have always existed and have always been bad. I would agree but I would also argue that there is a tipping point. Once the tipping point has been achieved, it spills over into the atmosphere which then effects everyone to one degree or another depending on how much you give yourself to it. It is one thing to breathe it, it is quite another thing to breathe in deeply. The saint should be surrounded by rarified air, the air of love and grace, an atmosphere whereby one does not render evil for evil.

The tragedy of rendering evil for evil is all around us. If you hate, for whatever reason, you are being slowly eaten alive from the inside out. You have breathed in the poison. The great tipping point here in the States has been President Trump’s election. One side thinks their hatred is justified because the other side is so bad. Hatred, for whatever reason, no matter what side you are on, is a consuming fiery cancer The thing about hate is that either way it wins. And when the tipping point is reached and hatred runs amok, then the destruction of society inevitably follows. It could be World War one or two. It could be the Russian revolution. It could be the 1960s and the race riots. It could be Rwanda or the cultural revolution. There is an antidote and if we fail to seek it and to live it then we shall destroy ourselves and fall into the darkness. If you choose to breathe in deeply the air that is all around us and spew out more hatred into the atmosphere then your fate is sealed, or you could breath in the rarified air of peace and love as the Lord Jesus has commanded us saying……………

You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Mat 5:43-48)