Fools Rush In

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, more often referred to simply as “Tiberius Caesar,” was the emperor of Rome. Nobody questions that. Wikipedia will tell you all about him, should you so desire. Tiberius Caesar was a highly successful Roman general and diplomat.

Furthermore, Rome was the largest city in the world. The Roman Empire had expanded throughout most of Europe, Northern Africa, and Asia Minor. Historians date the life of Tiberius from 42 B.C. to 37 A.D., and his reign from A.D. 14 until his death. As they say, the rest is history.

But, for a moment, let’s talk about today and tomorrow. In the future, when people look back on our culture, what will they observe?

Within just the last 48 hours, I’ve had several opportunities to rub up against the prevailing philosophies of our day. I had two doctor’s appointments, for example, in a university setting that has done nearly everything in its power to extricate itself from its evangelical heritage. (You’d be surprised what you can erase in 120 years.) My point is that, for most people here and now, life happens without Jesus. In large measure, they deem it no big deal whether or not Christ’s claims are seriously considered. In fact, they would prefer that His name not even be mentioned.

I also made two necessary trips to a government agency. For the most part, the workers were pleasant in the performance of their tasks, but the vibe was clearly: “We celebrate transgenderism.” There was no placard on the wall to that effect, but the permitted employee attire spoke volumes. I will go as far as saying that the mood was unsettling, in the sense that it forced every person seeking the agency’s services to ask themselves: “Can I navigate this conversation without accidentally agitating the pronoun police?” The entire office environment looked and felt looked nothing like movie images of the Bible Belt.

I won’t bore you with more of my personal illustrations, except to mention that I also stopped by the pharmacy. I will keep this blog posting at a PG rating, but let me just say that the aforementioned academic and government influences converged for me in a singular and multicolored “anything goes behind the drug counter” moment. What surprised me was not the rejection of traditional standards in what’s supposed to be a professional environment, but the obvious deliberate choice to platform the new moral order in such an in-your-face kind of way.

In short order, after a quick series of these similar “spiritual” interactions, here’s what I was left thinking: As a society, as fast as we possibly can, we’re trying to run away from Jesus.

But can we really escape the grip of the Son of God? Can we regard His words and teachings as nothing but ancient mythology? Can we avoid forever, or nullify entirely, His gospel? Can we, as a civilization, move on to a successful future, while pretending that Jesus never lived … and died … and rose again?

Here’s what I’ve been thinking: We’re playing the fool. Psalm 14:1-7. Psalm 53:1-6. Romans 1:18-32. That’s us.

Friends, we have lots of reliable sources that validate the life of Tiberius Caesar of Rome. But we have four times as many reliable sources that validate the life of Jesus Christ of Nazareth! That would be like four times as many people in 1865 acknowledging a poor farmer from Leiper’s Fork than the number who acknowledged Abraham Lincoln.

Think about it. Maybe that’s the problem here. We’re not thinking.

Fools do foolish things. Fools make a mess of everything. Fools can rise to the level of running everything, until they run it right into the ground.

Nothing to see here? Hardly. We can’t erase the King of Kings. We can’t escape the Lord of Lords! It doesn’t end well for fools.

Awake my soul and sing
Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity!

Pastor Charles