Do you remember the old westerns, where the battle between good and evil was settled by a few good men and women who stood up to fight? These movies were called morality plays, an old art form that reminds us of the honorable choice to do the right thing even at great cost.
These stories are told by parents to their children to instill courage and valor equal to the threats they will face in their generation.
Evil is a restless thing. It’s source, the devil, is constantly working on plans to motivate horrors and atrocities in the earth. We need to be ready to stand against wickedness in its various forms.
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” –Gandalf
In my reading yesterday (Easter Sunday) I found in the book of Isaiah a description of something like God’s own Magnificent Seven. I don’t pretend to understand specific times and dates of the fulfillment of this prophesy, but I do see its universal applicability (and of course the identity of the King). It is a call to all of us to stand up and become a shelter in this weary land.
The Kingdom of Righteousness
See,
a KING will reign in righteousness…and rulers will rule with justice. Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.
No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected. For fools speak folly, their hearts are bent on evil: They practice ungodliness and spread error concerning the Lord; the hungry they leave empty and from the thirsty they withhold water. Scoundrels use wicked methods, they make up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.
But the noble make noble plans,
and by noble deeds they stand.– Isaiah 32:1-8
♞
