We must want more than to live off the fumes of better days
The Olympic games are a global celebration of cultures and countries in a showcase of the world’s top athletes. So, it leaves one mystified when the opening ceremony in Paris depicted Jesus Christ and the apostles at the Last Supper portrayed by drag queens, creepy weirdos and a fat female in tight clothing sitting in for Christ.
After an avalanche of complaints the Olympic committee mustered a weasely apology that sounded in a nutshell like “the display was meant to be inclusive so we’re sorry for the morons who didn’t get it.”
What is inclusive about jamming a finger in the Christian eye? Can anyone imagine opening the Olympics with a depiction of Mohammed as a transwoman or mocking Jews for eating unleavened bread? No, that would never happen because it’s been open season for 2,000 years to criticize, offend, discriminate and punish one religious group more than any other.
France knows this. It pillaged the Church during its infamous revolution that sent more than 15,000 people to the guillotine. More than 200 years later the French government still hasn’t given back the properties it stole and that includes Notre Dame Cathedral. The Russian revolution killed millions of Catholics. The Spanish and Mexican revolution are infamous for their vicious attacks on priests.
Christianity is weathering the blows, taking one beating after another. In Canada, Christian churches are routinely vandalized. More than 100 churches in two years were burned to the ground or were vandalized. One Ottawa church was vandalized three times last month. For some people it’s the Christians’ punishment for more than 200 dead natives in a mass grave. But those more than 200 dead bodies have never been found because it didn’t happen. It was a hoax, supported by our prime minister, who flew Canadian flags at half-mast for eight months in salute to a lie.
Christianity is an easy target because Christians don’t fight back and, honestly, Canadians don’t even know what Christianity is anymore. A farmer friend observed, “We are living on the fumes of Christianity.”
In farm country, you can see that the Christian spirit is still alive. The one powerful thing we learned from families going through a painful crisis is that there is an outpouring of kindness from the community.
After the death of Lanark County’s John Vanderspank, almost 100 tractors and farm vehicles moved in a slow-roll salute past the family farm, even though for many it was the first good day for planting after numerous rain delays. When 15-year-old Renfrew dairy farmer Patrick van Lindenberg died – his heart stopped suddenly – people came to the farm from all over to help with chores and get the family through a heart-wrenching time. “I had absolutely no idea how many friends I have,” Patrick’s mother said.
And when Quinns’ Abattoir recently burned to the ground, owner Kara Enright was astounded by the “absolutely amazing” support from the community.
But we also see increasing discord. Farm country is following right behind the cities with its increasing levels of divorce and family conflicts.
We have seen how badly societies function when we think we know better than God. We chose material wealth and got spiritual poverty. It’s time to save ourselves before it is too late. Even non-Christian Elon Musk gets it. He tweeted on July 27: “Unless there is more bravery to stand up for what is fair and right, Christianity will perish.”
The challenge is that many Christians don’t even know what it means to be Christian. Our society cranks out PhD graduates who know something about a little and very little about what’s really important – what it means to be alive.
There is a one-word command that would turn everything around and drown the sadistic elites in their own destruction. But that one word has been so twisted and maligned that most people don’t recognize it anymore. Sunday school children learn this word early and they are better for it. The word is love. The command of God is to love. The essence of God is love and it is that power of love that is holding our universe together, providing us our every breath. We need to re-learn to love and a good start is to begin thinking about the needs of others. Have you ever heard of a relationship that disintegrated because of the one who was looking out for the needs of the other?
We can’t do this on a part-time basis. We know we have to love our families, friends and neighbours every single minute of every single day. Sometimes this means saying no to our children if we want them to grow up. We need to be serious about giving God our time and all of our effort because we are going to being spending more of our time dead than alive and there is no plan B once we’ve crossed to the other side.
We must pray for help, for guidance, for courage and then we need to go take on the day. One prayer at a time, one act of courage and kindness at a time and the power of God will help us get our families back and eventually our country back.
Patrick Meagher is editor of Farmers Forum and can be reached at editor@farmersforum.com
