The world outside is frightful, but with Jesus is delightful!

     I'm sitting here in my recliner, dog at my feet, had a cup of coffee, read my Bible, and not a worry in my world.  I'll have to engage reality soon and see that there are wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, weather taking ugly turns, natural disasters, and a host of other very real events taking place even though I'm unaware.  The implications are huge though.  For me to believe I am safe only lends me to be vulnerable to the enemy.  Satan goes about the land seeking whom he may devour.  That's all of us who believe that Jesus is the Son of God and worship him only.  The prayers of the saints are what helps us stay safe.  I imagine a huge wall around where I live that is protected with angels on every side, under and over, keeping me and mine safe.  It's not that I'm paranoid, it's that God loves me so much that he takes this step to protect me.  The world outside is frightful.  You cannot turn on the news or read a newspaper without being overwhelmed with what is going on "out there." 
     Well, you can turn a blind eye or your back on what's happening.  Dulling your senses makes you able to see that what is going on happens to "other" people and not you.  Denial is an element of all of our lives that only we can give life to.  You may think that what you believe is the truth.  Convincing others is an entirely different matter.  Denial says that the "symptoms" of our worlds actions and inaction's are the problem.  Denial would help you succumb to the lie that others buy as well.  All is well.  There is peace on the horizon.  Goodness is abounding everywhere.  Really?  The world outside is frightful.  Yet, we who believe don't take it seriously.  Maybe it's because we don't believe it can happen to us, to our families or to our friends.  Maybe we are deceived into believing that there is nothing we can do to make things different.  Perhaps you, like so many, look for "someone else" to do what needs to be done, to say what needs to be said, and to be a champion for those who are in need of a champion.  Maybe the world in here is frightful as well.  All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.  After all, "It's not my job."
     The image that everything is rosy with Jesus is to say we have arrived.  "Look at what I project my world to be like!"  I'd rather not.  I'd rather look at what needs there are around you and I and attend to them.  "Even as you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me."  We often take that statement to address the "good" we do to those around us.  The opposite is true as well.  "Even as you have NOT done it to the least of these, you have NOT done it to me."  The weather outside is frightful, but with Jesus is delightful.  Do you make a difference in the world around you?  Will anyone be able to look back and say that your life made a difference?  I would hope so.  But, I don't know about your life.  I only know about mine.  I've been the one who has done God's will and also gone against God's will.  I've helped and harmed.  I've neglected the needs of others and fulfilled the needs of others.  I've been both part of that world that is frightful as well as that part that is delightful.  I've failed and I've succeeded.  Looking back is good only if you intend to use the memory to not make the same mistake twice.  If you are looking back and dwelling then you aren't moving forward. 
     The truth is YOU and I are who make the world around us frightful or delightful.  It's not someone else's job.  It's our job.  It's our calling.  It's our sharing Jesus to the world through our thoughts, words, and deeds.  Don't forget your prayers as well.  Being prayerful is not just about asking a blessing on what we eat.  Telling people to be well and happy but doing nothing results in nothing.  Wishful thinking isn't for those who call themselves followers of the Son of God.  The world outside really is frightful.  What are you going to do about it?  Life with Jesus is really delightful.  Are you going to share it?  It's all about the choices that YOU and I make.