The Gathering Storm: A 5-day DevotionalSample

The city of God is driven by the love of God—undiluted and perfect. The city of man is driven by love of man, real but imperfect. There is more to our biblical understanding. Left on its own, the love of man becomes a dangerous humanism. The greatest rival worldview to biblical Christianity in our day is secular humanism. This form of humanism is idolatrous and corrupted. Humanity is not self-existent nor self-sufficient; and the worship of humanity quickly turns into something deadly. Secular humanism presents humanity as autonomous and free from all external authority. That leads to disaster.

Christians, however, hold to a different worldview, and are driven by a different motivation. Our motivation is love—love of neighbor. We are called—commanded—to love our neighbor as ourselves. And who is our neighbor? Christ made it clear that every human being is our neighbor. 

So, hope gives us the reason to build a home and live in it. Love gives us the reason to build a home for others, for them to live in. Because we love our neighbor, we work for just laws, for righteousness and justice, for the protection of human life, for the good of our neighbors in all things. . . .

This adds so much substance to our responsibility as citizens of the city of man who love our neighbors and love for the glory of God. We can engage in almost every task—economics, politics, elections, entertainment, laws, government, hospitals, adoption agencies, churches, Christian ministries, and just about everything we can imagine—all to the glory of God.

This depends on our stewardship and calling. Ultimately, faith, hope, and love remain, but the greatest of these is love. 

The gathering storm is real—and we can see it and we dare to see it for what it is. But Jesus Christ is Lord, and he promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail over His church. And that is enough.