Last Friday was an in-service day for teachers in my district, which means the kids don't come to school and we engage in professional education for the day. I like it, others don't. Anyway, the theme for the day was "Celebrate What's Right with Kimberly" and as a district staff we watched a National Geographic movie called something to the tune of "Celebrate What's Right With the World." All in all, good movie. A fellow believer mentioned to me toward the end, however, that all of this is fine and dandy, but Jesus is still the answer, Jesus is still the only hope in the world.

I agree with this, and this provides the perfect segway into what I have been meaning to write for some time. By nature and theology, I am apocalyptic. The main theological characteristics of apocalyptic thought are as follows:

1) Stress on the sovereignty and transcendence of God
2) Description of the cosmic struggle of good and evil, God and Satan, angels and demons
3) Dominance of a mood of strain and tension, with pessimism concerning the present
4) Expectation of the ultimate triumph of God, seen as imminent, future, and wholly supernatural
5) Deemphasis on human wisdom and strength in the declining world situation-this age is passing away. The age to come will arrive by divine intervention and according to the divine plan. Nothing can stop it.

This puts me in a quandry. Like the narrator of the movie, I want to see what is good in this world. From the standpoint of a believer, I want to celebrate the beauty of God's Creation, I want to see the good in people, I want to extend unconditional grace. I want to look with joy upon the little boys and girls in Asia being delivered from the bondage of the caste system and finding peace and joy through Christ in Gospel for Asia's "Bridge of Hope" program. The 30,000 Chinese entering the Kingdom of God on a daily basis have to bring tears to one's face, as do the Rwandan Refugees in Nairobi given an opportunity to make a living for them and their children as bakers rather than selling their bodies for food. I could go on, as there is a lot of good in this world to celebrate, and I want to be optimistic.

Yet, and by nature I am a cynic and a skeptic, there is another side. Unfortunately, probably for every child put in GFA's schools, there are 1000 on the waiting list. Prostitution is still the only viable means of putting food on the table for far too many women on this planet. More and more children are being sold into the sex trade every day and millions of people still live in unreached parts of the world.

Therefore, as much as I want to look at the world with optimism, unfortunately it seems that's not the only way. Do I want to see potential in every person I meet, of course I do! As a teacher, I must give every student the opportunity to succeed, and many need a smile and a hand up in life due to their home circumstances. I must give a smile on the street or a kind word at the supermarket as God has called me to love. I must give more than one chance as I have received infinite second chances from the Lord. Yet I must also realize the nature of this world, that it is a fallen world, it is under the control of the evil one, and it is passing away.

I end with this short story. In Kenya this past summer, we had a roundtable discussion (it was outside in a circle on church pews) and some the questions the Kenyans asked us dealt with cultural issues. "How do we discipline our children who will not obey their parents?" "As a teacher, what can I do when a student refuses to work?" "What about these kids who walk around with their underwear hanging out and refuse to do their studies?" Those questions were the same that we deal with here in America, and the only answer I had for them was Jesus. In my mind, there is no human way to stop the trend we see in our culture. The religious right would like to think that we can legislate it, but that won't work. Others say live and let live, let them do as they choose, but that is not the answer either. We can choose to be optimistic in life and see the good in the world, but without Christ it is of no value. The answer lies in the message of Christ and the Kingdom of God. Preach the Kingdom, spread the grace of God, live as Jesus did, and one at a time God's people will turn to Him. Unfortunately from Scripture we know that things are going to continue to get worse, but we can be good stewards of what God has given us and through His power spread His light and turn as many as we can into followers of Him.