We are surrounded by news reports. Practically everywhere we go newspapers, televisions and electronic
devices broadcast streaming news headlines 24 hours every day to keep us updated on both local and worldwide events. While it’s important to know what’s going on in the world, the consistent, steady exposure to the many accounts of horrific events has left us inured to it.
“Mother; 3 children missing”
“Body found”
“Massive pile-up on highway”
“Budget cuts”
“Major storm”
Headlines such as these have become commonplace to us; so much so that we are either no longer moved or moved very little by the words we read and hear. Unable to have our emotions stirred, we are unable to feel any compassion for the victims or the victim’s family members, and as a result give little thought as to the extent this life-altering event has had on them. Truth be told, it’s more common for people now to grow tired of hearing a news story that remains at the forefront of reporting agencies for too many consecutive days. We want to hear something else – something new – as we struggle to deal with the pains and tiredness in our own existence.
Both bad news and the weariness of the constant barrage of it are not modern day inventions.
Think about the following in comparison to our own current day society and see if you can’t notice some similarities.
In Jerusalem around the time of Christ, Jews had to pay 50% or more of their income to the government in taxes; slavery was common, with slaves either born into it, forced into it as a prisoner of war, or else they sold themselves into it to pay off debts; there were riots and uprisings against the establishment; rich people comprised roughly 5-7% of the population while around 70% of the population struggled to survive as they lived in poverty conditions.
Politicians tried to side-step tough issues or uncomfortable situations and opted to take the easier path (for them, at least and usually only for the short term), or else would detour it altogether by turning the responsibility over to someone else, who would in turn either return it to the initiator by refusing to accept it, or else pass it along to another (usually lesser-in-rank) politician to deal with it. Finally, they would grudgingly implement an act when they were forced into it by a well-timed threat of being reported (usually to a higher political authority) and would invariably accompany their decision by placing the blame and the repercussions for the act onto the heads of those who had demanded it in the first place. (Read about Pilate in Matthew 27 to see this process played out.)
For all of our technological advances, society surely has not changed much in the last two thousand years. And yet in the midst of all of this poverty, oppression and hopelessness, something new did happen that changed the face of mankind forever.
Luke 2:10 “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
What was this good news? Christ, the Messiah, was sent to free us, to heal us, to release us from subjugation, and to show us the way of salvation.
Luke 4:18-19 (AMP) “The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound].”
Talk about good news! You would think that such incredible news would be widely and enthusiastically embraced by this hurting and hopeless population, yet that was not the case. While there were those who did eagerly accept it, there were many more people who did not. Some refused to accept a Messiah who did not come as a conquering warrior with His legions of soldiers to rout the Romans who had oppressed them for so long so that a new kingdom – a Godly kingdom – could be set up in place of Roman rule. Others who had only known a life full of hardships could not believe that they truly could be free, and instead chose to ignore this message of hope as they continued on in their life of never-ending despair and drudgery. And still others, who were used to the religious traditions with its many hundreds of laws and rules that must be followed, could not believe that salvation could come to them as easily as believing on the Christ. These individuals could not see the story behind the headline and missed out on the “great joy” the angel spoke of that is for all of us.
Colossians 1:19-20 “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [Christ], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
Peace; hope; healing; freedom; salvation. God, through Christ, offers us all of this and so much more than we could ever imagine.
John 10:10 (KJV) “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I [Jesus] am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
This Good News story will never grow old and is available to us all. The choice is yours. He’s waiting for you.
(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord, see How You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)
devices broadcast streaming news headlines 24 hours every day to keep us updated on both local and worldwide events. While it’s important to know what’s going on in the world, the consistent, steady exposure to the many accounts of horrific events has left us inured to it.
“Mother; 3 children missing”
“Body found”
“Massive pile-up on highway”
“Budget cuts”
“Major storm”
Headlines such as these have become commonplace to us; so much so that we are either no longer moved or moved very little by the words we read and hear. Unable to have our emotions stirred, we are unable to feel any compassion for the victims or the victim’s family members, and as a result give little thought as to the extent this life-altering event has had on them. Truth be told, it’s more common for people now to grow tired of hearing a news story that remains at the forefront of reporting agencies for too many consecutive days. We want to hear something else – something new – as we struggle to deal with the pains and tiredness in our own existence.
Both bad news and the weariness of the constant barrage of it are not modern day inventions.
Think about the following in comparison to our own current day society and see if you can’t notice some similarities.
In Jerusalem around the time of Christ, Jews had to pay 50% or more of their income to the government in taxes; slavery was common, with slaves either born into it, forced into it as a prisoner of war, or else they sold themselves into it to pay off debts; there were riots and uprisings against the establishment; rich people comprised roughly 5-7% of the population while around 70% of the population struggled to survive as they lived in poverty conditions.
Politicians tried to side-step tough issues or uncomfortable situations and opted to take the easier path (for them, at least and usually only for the short term), or else would detour it altogether by turning the responsibility over to someone else, who would in turn either return it to the initiator by refusing to accept it, or else pass it along to another (usually lesser-in-rank) politician to deal with it. Finally, they would grudgingly implement an act when they were forced into it by a well-timed threat of being reported (usually to a higher political authority) and would invariably accompany their decision by placing the blame and the repercussions for the act onto the heads of those who had demanded it in the first place. (Read about Pilate in Matthew 27 to see this process played out.)
For all of our technological advances, society surely has not changed much in the last two thousand years. And yet in the midst of all of this poverty, oppression and hopelessness, something new did happen that changed the face of mankind forever.
Luke 2:10 “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
What was this good news? Christ, the Messiah, was sent to free us, to heal us, to release us from subjugation, and to show us the way of salvation.
Luke 4:18-19 (AMP) “The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound].”
Talk about good news! You would think that such incredible news would be widely and enthusiastically embraced by this hurting and hopeless population, yet that was not the case. While there were those who did eagerly accept it, there were many more people who did not. Some refused to accept a Messiah who did not come as a conquering warrior with His legions of soldiers to rout the Romans who had oppressed them for so long so that a new kingdom – a Godly kingdom – could be set up in place of Roman rule. Others who had only known a life full of hardships could not believe that they truly could be free, and instead chose to ignore this message of hope as they continued on in their life of never-ending despair and drudgery. And still others, who were used to the religious traditions with its many hundreds of laws and rules that must be followed, could not believe that salvation could come to them as easily as believing on the Christ. These individuals could not see the story behind the headline and missed out on the “great joy” the angel spoke of that is for all of us.
Colossians 1:19-20 “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [Christ], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
Peace; hope; healing; freedom; salvation. God, through Christ, offers us all of this and so much more than we could ever imagine.
John 10:10 (KJV) “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I [Jesus] am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
This Good News story will never grow old and is available to us all. The choice is yours. He’s waiting for you.
(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord, see How You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)
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