Do you have a favorite way to present the gospel? There are lots of good ways to do it, but I've come upon one that I think really has a special appeal.
It's been over 20 years since The Da Vinci Code burst onto the scene, providing millions with reasons to doubt Christianity. There has long been a cottage industry for providing such reasons, but The Da Vinci Code was bigger than anything that came in the century before it. It's been thoroughly debunked, but there are still people who choose to believe its myths. This should have taught us that the enemies of Christianity are completely willing to traffic in lies, half-truths, and distortions.
At that time, a skeptic had to convince a major publisher to give him a forum. The internet has changed that. Now we have memes on social media and things like YouTube, TikTok, and podcasts that can give an appearance of credibility to ideas that do not warrant it. The modern world is full of dangerous people and dangerous ideas, but it also provides tools to combat them.
Christians are taught to revere the word of God. After all it's "living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb 4:12). It's "God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2Tim 3:16-17). The scriptures are "more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb" (Psalm 19:10).
We love the Bible. But we still struggle to read it.
It's fitting that we commemorate the birth of Christ, in the northern hemisphere, during the darkest time of the year. We don't know the actual date, but it was a very dark time on earth. Cruelty, oppression, and wickedness seemed to have won the war. The faithful were tempted to believe God would never keep his promise. Then God acted.
I'm getting rather tired of me. I grow weary of the same temptations, the same struggles, the same excuses. I ask the man in the mirror, "Is this really the best you can do?" I'm not convinced by his answers.
I hate the pain and suffering in this world. I hate the evil that men do. But I'm most tempted to despair over the evil that I do.
