Scary Times Ahead?

I don't feel good today. I have that darn cold that has been going around. I'm lying in bed, but I don't want to sleep, and I have a lot of work to do. So I'm catching up on some reading online. I've focused my reading on the economic crisis that is affecting not only our country, but the whole world. I don't believe that this is the end of the world, but I do believe that it is a very big deal. I've felt for awhile that the decisions that are being made throughout our country may not affect me, but they will definitely affect my children and grandchildren, primarily in negative ways. However, in light of the events of the last month or so, I am beginning to believe that our way of life here in America may soon be severely challenged.

I don't think anyone needs to be reminded of the challenges we face: foreclosures, job losses, shrinking retirement accounts, rising healthcare costs, overextended living and record debt, shrinking oil production and rising costs, rising food costs, etc. What does it mean for us as followers of Jesus? Or, as Francis Schaeffer put it, "How then should we live?"

As scary as this time is, I'm also encouraged. There is hope. It doesn't take one long in their study of church history to learn that the church has thrived most when she could depend on God alone. What happens when our resources begin to vanish? Perhaps it's an opportunity for us to think creatively, to imagine new ways of living, and to redefine what it means to have the good life. Perhaps it's an opportunity for the church to speak prophetically during this time of change.