That Was Then, This Is Now, and Jesus Is Coming

I grew up watching the Lone Ranger, Hoppy, and Roy, secure in my vision that way out west was a land where good guys wore white hats, real men sat tall in the saddle, and evil was always defeated. While I grappled with the intricacies of 5th-grade arithmetic I knew that out there was a place where cowboys beat Indians and bad guys every time.

World War II was over, Korea was coming, and both were fully supported here at home; the Nazi and Communist menaces were soundly defeated and the world was a safe place. Mom was always there when I came home from school and Dad would be along in time for supper.

TV was invented and everything was black and white. Prices went up but the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall came down. Soldiers were good guys.

Oh, there was the Cold War and the threat of nuclear annhilation ... but then, there were Roy and Hoppy.

Of course, things have changed. Now I grapple with the intricacies of working in a company that's going out of business, and knowing that Christopher Columbus was a bad guy, that the Indians should have beat the cowboys and pilgrims, that Viet Nam was a bad thing, that my military service wasn't appreciated.

Oh where, oh where, have the good times gone? Abraham, Martin and John have been killed, and Bobby and Malcolm, too. I had a boy's vision of a world that wasn't broken and didn't need mending, but I lived through the 60's and saw it all begin to fall apart, when college professors took drugs and encouraged their students to do the same, when our best hopes were gunned down in cold blood in front of our eyes on TV and we watched them laid to rest in long processions that tore our hearts out.

I'm not longing for the past to come back because the future is living in my heart. I want to lift Him up and see all men drawn to Him. I want to see that New Jerusalem, the city of God where all men are brothers and weapons are turned into plowshares. I want to see the faint light that is gleaming become a strong and steady beacon for all people to see.

On for Jesus. Seek His face and His strength. Things may seem worse than they ever were, but that's when God is at His best. Darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the Lord shall arise upon thee and His glory shall be seen upon thee.