Into the Fire

That seemingly never ending battle between good and evil rages on in life and literature. Yesterday in my review of Thin Line by L. T. Ryan, I mentioned the concept of even within the "good" people the potential for horrible evil resides.

Christians know human beings are not "good" as some would have us all believe. Yes, they are capable of doing good things, thinking good thoughts, and performing good deeds. However, in God's eyes all of man's supposed "good" is as filthy rags to Him. Why? Because man is born into sin. What that makes man is a self-serving, flesh-driven vehicle who is capable of doing most things for his own fulfillment – or in other words whatever makes him feel the best. His motivations are questionable, although some things he does because of God's inspiration which he neither credits nor recognizes.

Many unbelievers think man is basically "good". Why, I have no idea. The world is going crazy all around us with hideous terrorism, fraudulent scandals and schemes within our own government, the lusts for power, sex, and perversions are being heralded as admirable and proclaimed with pride. Pits of iniquity belong to demonic strongholds with people suffering from torture and children being sold and used as sex slaves. How can anyone call mankind "good"? If man has existed for thousands or millions of years, how can it be, if he is good, that he is no better than when he first appeared?

In the crime genres we find detestable antagonists who represent evil. It seems we find less and less honorable protagonists to squelch the evil. This serves to demonstrate the "thin line" between right and wrong, good and evil. Vigilante justice, guns-for-hire assassins, and just plain thugs committing murders for the thrill of it, coat the pages of novels. A few of these protagonists have a moral code, lines they absolutely won't cross, but who knows what they will do if the antagonist threatens or carries out the death of the right person? Vengeance motivates those who seek to exact their own brand of justice. Will they or won't they actually do what they plan to the one who deserves the worst?

Jesus is the only One who transforms the evil in mankind. It will not be eliminated while we abide in this fallen world, walking in this flesh and blood, but the ability to feel the tug of the Holy Spirit's conviction when we desire to actually commit an act of evil or do wrong, this is what we achieve when we embrace the God of the universe. Without Him our motivation to refrain from wrong can be threatened at any given time with little reason to resist. "Good" people without the Lord fail to realize He is the inspiration to do right instead of wrong, acknowledged or not.

The war between right and wrong, good and evil will rage on through the pages of novels and in real life. Writers will create atrocities and, sadly, life will continue to offer them up. There is something lost in the pages of books when spiritual truth is eliminated from a story. Oh, yes, the arguments for what is really the truth flare and compete for recognition arguing there can be oh-so-many versions of "truth". Not so. One Truth. One. Otherwise there are just a bunch of variations and copycat theories resulting in anything but Truth.

It matters what you think of right and wrong, good and evil. What you think will eventually determine where you spend eternity. Like right and wrong, good and evil, there will be heaven or hell. And that's not fiction.

Father, Jesus came to save us from our sins. We're desperate for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.