Who’s afraid of the Permacrisis? Part 2

One of the joys of living in an otherwise female household (2 ladies, a 9-year-old girl and 3 chickens, plus our daughter Helen who often visits) is the craft activities that abound. Helen has taught our young house guest Olena how to cross stitch. One day I came across a sad tapestry with untidy threads strewn across a picture that resembled a pig’s head with a dunce’s hat on top. You could postulate that this mess describes Planet Earth. If I was a man from outer space, I wouldn’t believe what happens here, e.g.,

• Why the Israeli army tells the people of Northern Gaza to travel south for their own safety, then bombs the south, the very place where the army have told people to shelter.
• Why the brutal head of a state called Russia would send his army to seize another country’s land, then mine it so heavily that no-one will ever be able to live there again.
• Why companies that produce plastic argue that we’ll solve the world’s waste problem by making more plastic!

Then I turned Olena’s picture over. And I saw a unicorn in its full splendour.

In Part 1 (my previous blog) I argued that God doesn’t see what we see. To us, it’s spiralling out of control. To him, history is converging towards the point where he will ‘make all things new’. He said quite clearly that before this happens, life will indeed become very scary.

-o-O-o-

I first read about the ‘back vs front side’ analogy in a book by Dutch Christian Corrie Ten Boom. Corrie was visiting a high security prison where she met a ‘lifer’ who tearfully confessed the way he’d messed up his life. She happened to have a tapestry with her, and felt inspired to compare his life with the tangled mess on the reverse side. Then she turned it over, and explained how, when we receive Jesus Christ by faith, God sees us as if we are the top side. There in his prison cell, that man’s life began to change for ever.

It was an ‘allegory’ that Corrie used frequently when giving talks. She displayed a tapestry of a crown, linking it to a poem, ‘Life is but a weaving’ by American hymn writer Grant Tuller.

-o-O-o-

So, if I’m not meant to panic and despair about the sad state of our world, how else am I going to cope? Various bible passages (e.g., Ephesians 5 vs 15-17) give advice on how to prepare for what is called the ‘end times’. Here are some common themes.

1. Lean into God when it’s tough. And yes, it will be tough!
2. Learn to listen to God; what’s he want me to do?
3. Avoid coping mechanisms, especially drink. Instead, be drunk with the Holy Spirit! Remember to celebrate God’s goodness.
4. Make the most of every moment. Keep on sharing your faith, preaching Jesus, showing His character, building his kingdom on earth. [Very much including, I would add, working to ‘save creation’ in every way I can.]
5. Be on your guard for peddlers of rogue philosophies. They can easily take advantage of chaos.

I’ll finish with the last verse from the song, ‘Do not be afraid’:

You are Mine, oh My Child; I Am Your Father, And I Love You With A Perfect Love.