“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”
In the last five years or so, I’ve experienced a dramatic surge of people in my acquaintance who previously had little interest in things spiritual or religious but have become deeply interested, not just in the theory, but the practice of Christianity.
Has some high profile man or woman of God inspired them to follow? Has the Church so impressed them with her acts of love and courage that they had no choice but to seek “an answer for the joy that they have?”
It doesn’t seem so.
Instead, it’s been more of what Tolkien called a euchatastrophy. Something the devil intended for evil has been turned into the very vehicle of salvation.
Most of the people who have moved from mild interest, disinterest, or in some cases hostility towards God to a driving passion to pursue him have done so because they saw the devil.
Darkness and evil seem to have crawled up from under rocks and come out from behind corners. The last few years have brought into the light vile behavior that doesn’t easily fit into a materialist paradigm. People are under attack. The sensation that there is something more than mere political interest driving the lies and oppression is inescapable. Even grand man-made conspiracies fail to account for all the madness.
Thinking people have begun to look deeper. They have begun to suspect Ephesians 6:12 is true:
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.“
This suspicion – that there is more driving the evil in the world than material interests – has led to an honest exploration of the unseen realm and a renewed interest in understanding the very structure of reality.
Persist in that honest search long enough, and you come to Christ. And many have.
It would be wonderful if the example of the God-fearing were drawing people to the truth. Maybe some are. But God’s ways tend to be more unexpected than that. And more humbling.
As evil emerges from the shadows, not everyone is cowed or numbed into acquiescence. Good people see it and are moved to seek truth. Arrogance his nature, the devil is overplays his hand.