The Dark Side--by Linden Malki

"They're rioting in Africa. There's strife in Iran. What nature doesn't do to us, will be done by our fellow man!"   This song has been haunting me for the past few days. It's been around for 55 years, and the world hasn't changed much! Like it or not, we live in a world filled with unhappy souls. Read, listen, watch: the world has always had unhappy souls. Here and there, there may be light and contentment, but there are many things that we don't like and some that don't like us.

We were created for the presence and company of God.  He intended for us to value wisdom, The problem was that some things appear to be "wise" do not work.  It is tempting to say think that we could have handled that snake better; but that is just our own arrogance talking. We are created with greater power for good than we can use on our own; we have a greater ability to cause trouble than we can control on our own (especially when the evil loose in the world helps)!
                                                                                                                                                             

I've seen, up close and personal, some of what the "dark side" (or stupidity)  of human beings can do. Our store was hit by a computer attack--the kind that locks up everything and demands "ransom" for unlocking it.  It's been a project to restore what was in that system, but I'd rather do that than cooperate with malice. When we lived in Devore, we survived two massive brush fires--the Panorama and Old fires, both set by arsonists. (We providentially escaped more than minor damage, but many of our neighbors, friends and family were burned out.)          The son of a Christian family who came from Iraq to get out of that dangerous environment some years ago was killed in a drive-by shooting in Hollywood--the man who was the target of the shooters came out from behind a parked car and apologized to my nephew, who was with the young man who was shot. Last year I had two cars totaled--one by a lady who came out of a driveway across the road and didn't turn into her lane--she turned into me. The other was someone going too fast, texting, and sideswiped me. We cannot avoid the recognition that we live in a imperfect, fallen world.

Our fallible human lives are not intended to be the end of the story. Our eternal selves are shaped by what we did, said, and thought here on earth; some of those things become part our growth; some are prunings, some will be gone in the process of becoming fit for heaven (if we are willing to allow the trimming and shaping and refining). Jesus allowed His human body to be destroyed utterly; we briefly saw His heavenly body. which still retained the scars of the ordeal he went through. He will purify us as well, from the inside-but we have to let Him in!
*"The Merry Minuet," The Kingston Trio, 1959.