A column by Mark Abel, senior pastor at Southview Grace Brethren Church, Ashland, Ohio, is included in today’s Akron, Ohio, Beacon Journal. A portion of the article appears below. Click here to read the complete column.
Only Jesus can change the world
Sitting down to write this article, my mind is filled with all sorts of comments and questions that I would like to put before multiple groups of people in regards to COVID 19, George Floyd, riots and ridiculous calls to defund the police.
Comments and questions, that in my mind, if people would just hear and thoughtfully consider, would be a source of calming peace amidst a world of turmoil.
Then, reality sets in and I realize the arrogance and self-righteousness in thinking that even my most profound and well-articulated statements have any chance to bring about a massive change in society, let alone in a single individual.
To be honest, it is an irritation of mass proportion when there is a clear trend within our current world, where so many think that they have to weigh in on every situation and issue. It is amazing to watch some of the most spineless and gutless people get brazenly bold and downright rude when they sit behind some sort of screen. To quote Abraham Lincoln, “in times like the present, men should utter nothing for which they would not willingly be responsible through time and eternity.”
It is however, important to know from where Abraham Lincoln got that principle. He got it from the one individual who does offer words that do have the power to conform individuals and cultures. In fact, the world has not been the same since He came over 2,000 years ago. He changed it then and He, and only He can change it now. It is with that, that I offer you these words said by Jesus and recorded in the gospel of Matthew for you to ponder.