Another Day of Light and Darkness

I went to Pensacola last week and got to go on an awesome walk on the beach early Friday AM. As I was driving along the coast looking for a place to park, I realized that I needed a landmark to be able to find my car. I was planning on a long walk and everything looked pretty much the same. I happened to see a small parking lot with a cross at the top of the dunes right next to it. It was a such a nice little surprise and I knew that God led me right to it. I had great prayer time that morning and the cross standing in the dunes led me right back to my car.

That night I was able to watch some of the Opening Ceremonies from The Olympics. As I was watching the different teams from each country float by on the Seine River, I noticed that the news and social media starting blowing up over the earlier controversial and blasphemous part of the Ceremonies that had drag queens and the like attending a depiction of the Last Supper.

I’m sure that all of you have seen this by now along with the outrage from the Christian community around the world. The response has somewhat overshadowed the Games to this point. Predictably, the Christians are highly insulted by the production while most of the liberals are either silent and supportive of the artistic expression. The most shocking response to me was from Jill Biden who called the Opening Ceremonies “spectacular” and wondered “how we were going to top this” when the Games come to Los Angeles in 2028.

Sadly, there aren’t many things that surprise me anymore. We know that we have “light” and “darkness” in this world and that they are constantly in conflict with one another. However, it does feel more offensive in a situation like this when someone has gone through great planning, time and effort to try to make a mockery out of something that we Christians hold dear. The French Olympic Committee had a blank page to do anything they wanted and they made the conscious decision to come up with this. They knew who the audience was and were trying to make a statement of some sort about inclusion. They have since claimed that they accomplished their mission. The official response was, “We believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we are really sorry.”

This will be talked about for awhile and then the news cycle will reset with something new and fresh. However, it will always be part of the story of these Games and a stark reminder of what can happen to a country that seems to have completely lost is spiritual footing. Europe is in a post-Christian state and our nation is in danger of the same.

There will be times when we all feel like darkness is winning. Darkness is real and it is in our midst. Yet, we know that Light wins in the end and that we are part of the Light. That was the reminder that God gave me on the beach that morning as I looked for a landmark. Thank you God for your daily reminders that point us back to the Cross.

Stay hungry,

Big E

Matt. 5:6