The news at this time is fairly gloomy. There are clear and present dangers to our nations, both economic (with the Greek Euro crisis, and the fragility of Quantitative Easing on both sides of the Atlantic) and terror — from Islamic state and its demented minions. At the same time those of faith are opposed on all sides.
And yet we are told not to fear.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,
To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
(2 Timothy 1:1-14 ESV)
We have to recall two things: the first is that our salvation is not our doing. It is not anything we could do. We cannot make ourselves immortal: we cannot undo our actions, we cannot preserve our righteousness. For we are small, weak and broken.
The second is that we have a responsibility. To fan, to build up, to train the gift from God. Now, that could be all that is good: from right living to beauty to our trade: to preserve the good in society, for all these things are gifts from God. To interpret this as salvation alone may be a little narrow. For look at what the Spirit we have is: Power, Love and Self Control.
There can never be a law against Self control, for that is internally regulated: and laws against power and love fail. Because people hunger for the authentic, the real, the caring, and those with true authority. The laws we make either hurry to catch up, or pretend we are something better than human, saying they are aspirational.
The use of aspirational laws — in the hope we can be made better by policing finer and finer interactions — encourages a spirit of fear. This is the way of the SJW, with their horror of language they consider inappropriate, while leaving the underlying injustice and reasons for stigma untouched.
But that is a mistake. You cannot microregulate love, you cannot police control, and Love goes beyond any regulation. Woe to any society when this is not true.
