Luke 1:37
Galatians 1:13-24
Nothing is impossible with God is true if it is in the heavenly will of God, but do we have the patience, faith, trust, and hope to wait for it to be fulfilled, even if not in our own lifetime?
As many of you know, for many years we have been working for a peaceful
world for humans, animals, and the environment.
A large part of this effort has been to do everything in our power to free
creation from its present corruption, and overcome the evil in this world
with love.
And, at the same time, provide a sanctuary and comfort for those who deeply
care about animals and don’t eat them.
In the process we often encounter people who see this as an impossible task
and say that there isn’t any reason to even try, or they get so frustrated
at all the evil they see and say that they want to bring harm to those who
cause all these horrible evil things to happen.
We know that they don’t really mean to bring physical harm to them, but
speak this way because they don’t know what else to say or do.
We always do our best to counter such statements, for we know violence only
produces more violence, and that it is possible to accomplish our goal.
This is exactly what the angel of the Lord said.
When the angel of the Lord came to Mary to tell her that she was to become
the mother of Jesus, and she questioned how this could happen, the angel
concluded his answer with the following statement in Luke 1:37.
37. For nothing is impossible with God."
NIV
And this is exactly the way we feel, even if it gets very frustrating at
times.
And while there may be some complete sociopaths who reject every effort by
the Lord to soften their hearts, we know how He changed our hearts and
souls; so instead of wishing violence upon anyone who does evil, we seek and
pray for the same changes to occur in them.
The apostle Paul also had this life changing experience, which he talks a
little about in his letter to the churches in Galatia. (Galatians 1:13-24)
13. For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to
persecute the church of God beyond measure, and tried to destroy it;
14. and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my
countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.
What Paul was doing was very evil, but not really any more evil than the
people committing all the atrocities against millions of our fellow human
beings, and billions of the other animals in the world every year, in
addition to the raping of the environment.
Paul continues…
15. But when He who had set me apart, even from my mother's womb, and called
me through His grace, was pleased
16. to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I
did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,
17. nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I
went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.
When seeking God, the last thing a Jew expects to find is the Lord Jesus
Christ, but that is exactly what happened to both Paul and me.
And similarly, He sent both of us to the gentiles, but my calling was to
wake up the churches to their ungodliness and indifference to animals and
the people who care about them.
In both cases, God did the seemingly impossible, for nothing is impossible
with God.
18. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with
Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days.
19. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's
brother.
20. (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not
lying.)
21. Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
22. And I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in
Christ;
23. but only, they kept hearing, "He who once persecuted us is now preaching
the faith which he once tried to destroy."
24. And they were glorifying God because of me.
NASB
We have talked and corresponded with many ethical vegetarians and vegans who
used to eat the flesh and by-products of the animal agriculture industries,
and wear the skins of these animals, but now speak out against all forms of
animal use and exploitation.
The miraculous changes that took place in their lives are no different than
what happened to Paul and us.
The problem is, however, that the vast majority of these ethical vegetarians
and vegans are not Christian believers, because they have been alienated by
the hardness of heart they feel emanating from so-called Christians and
their churches.
According to a national survey we saw several years ago, about 85% of people
in the United States claim to be Christians, and they have relatively few
ethical vegetarians and vegans among them. (Unfortunately, we don’t have
this data for the rest of the world.)
And instead of being compassionate to all animals and the people who care
about them, the churches actually promote animal suffering in the ways they
act, which also explains why billions of animals continue to suffer and die
every year.
Since the churches are to be the moral ethical guides of the people, they
should be promoting the fact that loving God also means that we are to love
the whole of His creation and protect it, including every other human being,
every other animal, and the environment in which we all live.
Instead the churches have been continually corrupting creation, as they are
now doing.
This is the message we are to take to the churches instead of separating
ourselves from them.
Someone has to speak for the animals and the people who care about them, and
that task has fallen upon us.
We can all help bring about this change, for nothing is impossible with God.
Amen.
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