Did any of your friends post on December 30th and 31st, 2025 – “good riddance.” Maybe that was you.
Over 35
I don’t blame them or you if you did. Those of us over 35 remember when life felt stable and good for more than just a day.
In the mid-90s, most countries were downsizing their militaries, the EU was growing stronger, the Internet was connecting people in whole new ways and most economies, including Canada’s, were prospering.
What came next in the first quarter of the 21st century were forces of chaos and cruelty. And the 2020s so far, are the most precarious and perilous time in human history since the 1930s. For anyone paying attention, we feel like what we knew of the world of our youth is becoming a distant memory. Take a quick look back at the last 30 years and it’s understandable why the anxiety alarm bells are ringing.
30 Years In A Nutshell
Here’s a growing list that Michael Bird and N.T. Wright, laid out in 2024 in the opening chapter of “Jesus and The Powers.” 
In 2000, Y2K, there were drug cartels terrorizing Latin America.
there was the rise of radical Islam
September 11 2001
the global War on Terror
the Iraq war
the rise of the Islamic State
civil war in Syria
a 20-year occupation of Afghanistan
the global financial crisis of 2008
North Korea acquired nuclear weapons with Iran not far behind
China’s economic rise to a wealthy and predatory superpower
the effects of climate change
mass migrations of people fleeing conflict and poverty
every nation remains ravaged by the effects of COVID-19
Britain tore itself apart out over Brexit.
the USA convulses between white Christian nationalists and progressive identitarians.
Note: The list was only up to March 2024, before the Hamas invasion of Israel, rising global antisemitism, and the latest version of the US Presidency. The last 14 months bore witness to accelerated chaos globally and provincially in Alberta.
Optimism?
Bird says, “The optimism of the early 1990s died on the killing fields of Kosovo, in the ruins of the World Trade Centre, and then the valleys of Afghanistan.”
What is a Christian to think of all this?
Orthodox Christians know that God is ultimately sovereign over history. God is never surprised by history. God is the God who deposes kings and sets up kings. “Dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.” Psalm 22:28
Despite the terror and trauma that ravages different regions of our world, God’s goodness finds its way into our lives and homes.
What Should A Christian Do?
First, don’t start a political party.
Be people of prayer. “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” 1 Timothy 2:1,2
Be wholly informed. Listen to people who hold opinions that vary from you own. That doesn’t mean you have to waffle between opinions. It means that you’re not afraid of hearing truth and evaluating your convictions.
Hold onto the truth that Jesus is the King of Kings. The Church’s calling is to build God’s kingdom. The Kingdom of God is not from this world, but it is for this world. The Book of Ats clearly shows that the New Testament Church did not see going to heaven as their end game. They were called to a Spirit-led work in the present of bringing God’s kingship into every facet of human life.
Build For The Kingdom
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10
Our calling is not kingdom building. That leads to grasping for power and the choice of one empire over another. Christians are to build for the kingdom. We are to pursue the justice of Jesus. We work towards a better Canada.
God’s people have always been a kingdom of priests and a Light to the world. The Church was not called to build a kingdom on earth to replace empires, but to be a light in empires. Ours is a kingdom privileged position, not an empire position of power.
What do you think? Post a comment and join the conversation.
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Writers like NT Wright and Dallas Willard gave me words to help clarify what I knew was missing in how much commercialized present day preaching of the gospel was missing the mark. Consumer Christianity, the gospel of sin management, or Christian nationalism, emerge when Jesus’ own declaration and demonstration of God’s Kingdom is missing.