July 13, 2006
How sudden, the cooling of a friendship, how tragic the repercussions of failed expectations, especially when the friendship is not between two people, but two nations. Two nations, with their own self interests, their desperate desire for world domination, and the friction that comes with the knowledge that less than two decades ago these nations were sworn enemies.
'The past is the past' one might say, 'we are an evolved intellectual species capable of forgetting hurts, wrongs, threats of nuclear annihilation, and such. We have grown beyond the pettiness of patriotism, and nationalism, and have acquiesced to the idea of globalization, one world, one government, and one vision. A bright tomorrow awaits us all, absent of men's greed for power, absent of the desperate need to impose our version of democracy on the rest of humanity.'
If only our willful ignorance was that blissful, we might indeed all choose it. Reality however, has a way of shattering illusions it has a way of waking us from slumber, like a hard slap across the face. Even with such a wake up call however, there is always the option of being momentarily awoken, then rolling over on our side, returning to our slumber, quickly forgetting the sting of the slap.
The illusion that all is well is cracking and the facade of control is quickly slipping revealing the brutal truth underneath. Though we may like to think we have no enemies in this world, on a daily basis our enemies continue to multiply, though we may like to believe that diplomacy and reason will win out in the end, in the shadows we sharpen our swords, and brighten our arrows.
For some time now, a war of words has been brewing between the United States, and what we thought were our allies, Russia and China. It is becoming ever more obvious that they are unwilling to bend to our will, and unwilling to make any concessions when it comes to taking a hard line against nations that are openly threatening to launch devastating attacks against us as soon as they are able.
It would seem the fragility of our friendship is becoming more evident with each passing day, and in the face of the current Iranian situation, as well as the North Korean one, and the Russian's unwillingness to enforce any type of sanctions, in spite of obvious nuclear ambitions, one can't help but wonder where this will lead. What will be the outcome of this war of words, especially now when our allies are so few, and the situation we seem to have gotten ourselves muddled in seems to have no outcome but one?
When I was a child, my father taught me to play chess. He taught me everything about the pawns, the rooks, the bishops, the knights, the king and the queen. In his teaching me the game, he said that the first rules in chess, in his opinion, were to always plan three or four moves ahead, and send your pawns out first, then defend them whenever possible with the other more important pieces. I mention this, because the current situation seems to me, with each passing day, and eerily so, like a global chess game, wherein the more important players, are protecting their pawns, in order to reach their ultimate objective. A wise opponent would see this for what it was. A foolish player, or one blinded by his own lofty opinions of himself, would not perceive the dangers, would not think three or four moves ahead, as the saying goes, but simply make predictable moves, and readily fall into the trap that his enemy set before him.
Why would I choose to discuss such a topic? Why would I take the time and expend my energies in stating what to many is obvious? Because it would seem even the children of God have forgotten what was foretold many years ago, it would seem even we have attempted to reconcile ourselves with the idea of a global peace, secretly hoping that all the men whom God has sent to warn this nation over the decades all suffered some sort of common ailment that unilaterally compelled them to see a wretched sinfulness that wasn't really there, and an impending judgment that would never come.
However comforting this hope may be for some, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to ignore and disregard the gathering storm clouds, to close our eyes to the alignment of so many historically relevant events that must come to pass before God's judgment can commence.
We are living the days which were foretold by the prophets of old, by Christ himself, and by the modern day servants of the cross, who selflessly poured themselves out in the hope of reaching those who had grown lukewarm, in the hope of persuading them to re-ignite the passion that once burned so brightly in their hearts, of returning to their first love in Christ.
It is up to the individual believer to acknowledge the truth of the message that has been preached in this nation for so long, to recognize the season in which they live, and to see the validity of closeness with God.
The time is upon us, and as wise servants we must redeem the time and intercede on behalf of this nation to our Father in heaven, persistent in our petition for mercy.
The improbable, and impossible suddenly cease to be so, and some men's greatest fears, that indeed these who were commissioned by God to bring a hard message, but a needed one, were simply being obedient to the voice of Sovereignty, not walking in their own understanding, but in the revelation of God, are being realized.
I pray wisdom guides us, that we may see these current events in the context of Biblical prophecy, and act in accordance with the will of our eternal Father.
"Peace is such a precious jewel that I would give anything for it but truth." Matthew Henry
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.