Jesus Is Better

“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:16). Today is a sad day for America. I must confess, although I fully anticipated today’s ruling by the Supreme Court legalizing so called same gender marriage in all fifty states, I never thought I would actually see something like this in my lifetime. 

The response from the left has been predictable. President Obama Tweeted, “Today is a big step in our march toward equality. Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry just like anyone else.” He included the hashtag, #LoveWins.

On the right, and I do mean the right, Al Mohler predicted, “The threat to religious liberty represented by this decision is clear, present, and inevitable. He enjoins, “We cannot be silent, and we cannot join the moral revolution that stands in direct opposition to what we believe the Creator has designed, given, and intended for us. We cannot be silent, and we cannot fail to contend for marriage as the union of a man and a woman.”

Love has not won. Moral relativism, on the other hand, now rules. We are witnessing a modern day retelling of Judges 21:25, “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” The words of the prophet Isaiah, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,” (5:20) are being drowned out. Instead of a big step in our march toward equality, America has taken a big step in her march toward Divine judgment. 

So what are true followers of Jesus to do? The Psalmist writes, “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere” (Psalm 84:10). The writer of Hebrews says, “Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant” (7:22). In other words, Jesus is better. As followers of Christ, therefore, we must believe Jesus is indeed better. He is better than anyone or anything this world offers. As Christians, therefore, let us choose Jesus. He is, indeed, better.

Hal Lindsey noted, “It’s over. American won’t be coming back.” But that is okay as we “desire a better country, that is a heavenly one” (Heb. 11:16). This world is not our home. We are aliens and strangers here (1 Peter 2:11). Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). If I may borrow from John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, let’s let the residents of Vain Glory continue their journey to the City of Destruction. We, on the other hand, will continue our journey to the Celestial City where Jesus awaits us.

In these dark days, let the words of the hymn, Beneath the Cross of Jesus be your prayer. “Beneath the cross of Jesus I [long to] take my stand; the shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land; a home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way; from the burning of the noontide heat, and the burden of the day. Upon the cross of Jesus, my eye at times can see the very dying for of One who suffered there for me. And from my trite heart, with tears, two wonders I confess: the wonder of His glorious love and my unworthiness. I take, O cross, your shadow for my abiding place; I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face; content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss, my sinful self my only shame, my glory all, the cross.”

Finally, as the earth dwellers persist in their unbelief, remember the sobering words of Jesus: “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Matt. 16:26) My heart grieves for our nation and those I know personally who are trapped in Vain Glory. My prayer is for a mighty movement of God’s Spirit across our land, their rescue and salvation, and mercy in the midst of the judgment that is coming.