Forecast for rain showers? I hope so.

Being the season of Lent and all, it seems appropriate to be introspective and repentant. In this vein, there are a couple of quotes that I have been thinking about lately that I thing bear some reflection.

Martin Luther once said, “God’s word and grace is like a passing shower of rain which does not return where it has once been. It has been with the Jews, but when it’s gone it’s gone, and now they have nothing. Paul brought it to the Greeks; but again when it’s gone it’s gone, and now they have [Islam]. Rome and the Latins also had it; but when it’s gone, it’s gone, and now they have the pope. And you Germans need not think that you will have it forever, for ingratitude and contempt will not make it stay.”  As of 2012 eastern Germany is called "the most godless place on Earth" and "chief among non-believers."

In 2010, Cardinal Francis Eugene George, who was Archbishop of Chicago and president to the the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, commenting on the current state of Christianity in America, said, "I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison, and his successor will die a martyr in the public square."  This is easy to believe since we have all heard about the latest polls with growing number of Americans having no religious affiliation.  We have even termed them the "Nones." I have heard others say that based on the growth of Christianity in Africa and Asia along with its decline in the West, they will be sending us missionaries in 50 years time.

Also:

Hearing such things it is easy to pray, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus." It is also easy to get a sense of doom and gloom from such statements and while we should take them to heart, let's also take them as a call to action.  Remember the next thing Martin Luther said after the above quote is, "Therefore, seize it and hold it fast, whoever can." This decline and decay is not inevitable. Also, the second part of Cardinal George's quote after discussing the martyr is, "His successor will pick up the shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the church has done so often in human history."

Even so, if it were solely up to us, we very well should have a sense of doom and gloom. Thankfully, it is not up to us, in the end. Even more than a call to action, we need to realize that God is in control and he has promised to preserve his Church until the last day. To God alone be the Glory.