Christian Living

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It doesn't take most folks very long to figure out that evil isn't always discernable (no, let's say instead that it isn't always obvious). Wouldn't it be nice if things that were evil and things that were good simply wore bright neon signs that identified them so? Or what if the good guys always wore white and the bad guys always wore black? On the other hand, that would simply leave us with a fashionably drab world since everybody would have to wear black ("There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins" Ecclesiastes 7:20 NIV).

But deception is one of the qualities of evil that we should assume. With subtlety, evil can woo the unwary, win over the worried, and wile the wayward. Then, once its thorny vines have intertwined about its victims' lives, the thorns sprout, and the vine constricts, suffocating spiritual life, hope and potential for everlasting fruit.

In some cases, the evil fruits ripen and burst open with horrible results (as with Cho at Virginia Tech). In all cases, however, it brings death... spiritual death at the least. What hope is there then for the world? The hope found in Christ Jesus. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

"In all cases," I said, and "in all cases," I mean. But "if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness" (Romans 8:10). So, if I am in Jesus (having placed my faith in Him alone to save me from the power and penalty of sin), death has already been counted to me (or rather, my sin) and I am no longer bound to the destiny that once was mine, being free now to really live life... life in His Spirit.

Watch out then. Seek to know Him through His Word (the Bible), through prayer, and through fellowship with God's people in a local, Bible-based church. Seek to know the face of all that is good and holy so that you won't be taken in by evil's counterfeits.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Copyright © Thom Mollohan.

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