God Wins

As we all know, America is going to hell in a handbasket ... or, at least, something like it. Church attendance is on the decline. Religion is on its way out. There is the reported "rise of the Nones" where more and more are claiming to be "spiritual" but not "religious". We know this. And, as it turns out, we appear to be wrong.

Rodney Stark is a sociologist at Baylor University. He is reporting that, apparently, church attendance in America is now at an all-time high. Wait! We didn't think that was so, did we?

And Stark isn't alone. Last May the Washington Post reported the results of a new Gallup poll. While 77% believe that religion is losing its influence in American life, 75% think we'd be better off if we were more religious. That's right! Three out of four think religious influence is a good thing. In fact, Gallup indicated that around 1 in 3 irreligious folk reported that it would be positive for society if more Americans were religious.

Here, this is pretty simple. Imagine you're a white woman walking in a black neighborhood on a deserted street all alone at night. Up ahead you see four black youths come out of a building and start walking toward you. Would it make any difference in how you would feel if you knew they just came from a Bible study? (A question from Dennis Prager.)

A life touched by religion is generally a good thing. A life touched by Christ is a new thing. And despite what you may think, God is never out of control. "I will build My church," Jesus said (Matt 16:18). No effort of Man or Satan is going to stop Him from accomplishing what He intends (Job 42:2). That is why we can say with Scripture the repeated message, "Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain" (Rev 3:2; James 5:8; Heb 12:12; 2 Thess 2:17). Good news for Christians who care in a world that doesn't.

Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place (2 Cor 2:14).