Scripture reading: Luke 15:17–24

A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away . . .

Remember from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.

If not, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand . . . (Revelation 2:6)

 

I don’t know whether it’s the Christmas season, my advanced age (60), or some genetic abnormality, but I find myself remembering with nostalgia the world in which I grew up, a world that no longer exists. I remember when:

,. Only one of my childhood friends had divorced parents.

,. Friday night high school football games were opened with prayer.

,. You had to drive across the county line to buy alcohol.

,. We seldom locked our doors.

,. Every store and gas station in town was closed on Sunday.

,. Those who wanted to gamble had to drive to Nevada to do so.

,. Homosexual behavior (then it was called sodomy) was not only considered immoral but was classified a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association.

,. Public school classes began every day by standing and reciting the Lord’s Prayer.

,. A girl in my high school (in Georgia) had to go all the way to New York to get an abortion.

,. Receiving government aid was an embarrassment.

,. There was no email, Facebook, cell phones, twitter or texting. People carried on meaningful conversations face to face.

,. Living together before marriage was a scandal.

,. No one would dare think of organizing sports events on Sunday.

,. Astronauts flying around the moon read from the Bible on national television.

,. School assembly programs invited local pastors who sometimes finished their messages with an “altar call.”

,. Sunday evening service was more exciting than Sunday morning.

,. Mormonism was a cult.

,. I didn’t know the meaning of words like pedophilia, anorexia, and transvestite, and had to look them up in the dictionary.

,. The   only   medications   in   our   medicine   cabinet   were   aspirin   and mercurochrome.

,. “Gay” meant happy and “straight” meant honest.

,. Children could ride their bikes all over town (without helmets!) and come home at dark without parents ever once worrying about their safety.

,. Moral standards for television forbade scenes showing a couple together in bed even if it was a husband and wife.

 

My how times have changed! I don’t want to glamorize the past or whine for the good ol’ days, but I believe that something has been lost. And though I may grieve for that which is no more, I pray that my sorrow will lead to greater efforts at moral and spiritual reformation, not passive despair. Though some battles have been lost the outcome of the war is yet to be determined. No one said it more succinctly than Jesus: We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. (John 9:4).

O let me feel thee near me! The world is ever near; I see the sights that dazzle,

the tempting sounds I hear; my foes are ever near me, around me and within;

but, Jesus, draw thou nearer, and shield my soul from sin. —John E. Bode

 

point to ponder • How do you explain the moral slide that has occurred in our nation over the past few decades?

prayer focus • To remember the blessings we have lost, to repent of our sins, and return to the Lord.