And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and he was authorized to scorch the human race with fire. And the people were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues, and they did not repent in order that they might give Him glory. Rev. 16:8, 9.
Some people believe that television programs, television ads, and movies are lessening the quality of real life. Real life can't seem to compete with Hollywood. A single hour of television usually has more moments of suspense, more odd twists, and more romantic incidents than most people experience in a decade. And that is not even counting the 15 minutes or so of commercials that remind everyone how inadequate real life is.
Because of such human-made images people find it hard to look at the sky, the sea, or the forests with the wonder each deserves. The media images seem a lot more interesting. In real life, funny, heartfelt, profound, and even miraculous things happen. But they occur in God's time, scattered in the midst of run-of-the-mill, everyday activities. Compared to the dazzling array of experiences people have on TV, real life just doesn't seem worth writing home about.
It makes one wonder what it would take for God to get through to most people in today's world. Would it require something as big as the seven last plagues? Or would even that hardly faze the hardened devotees of visual fiction? But the above text reminds us that God will do whatever it takes to bring us back to reality.
You see, the glitter of those false images rubs off sooner or later. As that happens, we have to create more spectacular ones to produce the same impact. Eventually we become disillusioned with the race for bigger and better images that really can't get any bigger or better. When we tire of the things that "pacify" us, we will begin to look for something "real" that cannot be topped. That is where we begin to search for God.
People who have everything will eventually run into despair. Their relationships become a wreck, because they have spent their lives pursuing things that don't give life true meaning. They come face to face with the reality that the death rate is 100 percent. At some point we have to get a grip on our limitations and look for something eternal. But in a world filled with "virtual reality," it is that much harder to find the real--or even want it.
God sometimes lets us experience everything that we think will make us happy, so that in desperation we will seek only One who can truly make us happy. The sad thing is that some have allowed themselves to become so hardened that even God's loudest megaphone (the plagues) will not get their attention. I'd rather start paying attention now.
Lord, do whatever it takes to get my attention today.
Some people believe that television programs, television ads, and movies are lessening the quality of real life. Real life can't seem to compete with Hollywood. A single hour of television usually has more moments of suspense, more odd twists, and more romantic incidents than most people experience in a decade. And that is not even counting the 15 minutes or so of commercials that remind everyone how inadequate real life is.
Because of such human-made images people find it hard to look at the sky, the sea, or the forests with the wonder each deserves. The media images seem a lot more interesting. In real life, funny, heartfelt, profound, and even miraculous things happen. But they occur in God's time, scattered in the midst of run-of-the-mill, everyday activities. Compared to the dazzling array of experiences people have on TV, real life just doesn't seem worth writing home about.
It makes one wonder what it would take for God to get through to most people in today's world. Would it require something as big as the seven last plagues? Or would even that hardly faze the hardened devotees of visual fiction? But the above text reminds us that God will do whatever it takes to bring us back to reality.
You see, the glitter of those false images rubs off sooner or later. As that happens, we have to create more spectacular ones to produce the same impact. Eventually we become disillusioned with the race for bigger and better images that really can't get any bigger or better. When we tire of the things that "pacify" us, we will begin to look for something "real" that cannot be topped. That is where we begin to search for God.
People who have everything will eventually run into despair. Their relationships become a wreck, because they have spent their lives pursuing things that don't give life true meaning. They come face to face with the reality that the death rate is 100 percent. At some point we have to get a grip on our limitations and look for something eternal. But in a world filled with "virtual reality," it is that much harder to find the real--or even want it.
God sometimes lets us experience everything that we think will make us happy, so that in desperation we will seek only One who can truly make us happy. The sad thing is that some have allowed themselves to become so hardened that even God's loudest megaphone (the plagues) will not get their attention. I'd rather start paying attention now.
Lord, do whatever it takes to get my attention today.
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