Why did the Lord create man with the freedom to rebel, and by this allow all of the pain and suffering that has come upon the world? Freedom. There must be freedom for there to be true worship, or true friendship. We can teach a parrot to say the right things, but they will not be from its heart. Likewise, we can compel men to say and do the right things, but they will not be in their hearts. As we have read in 2 Corinthians 3:17, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

      When the lights once went out in New York City, people became like animals, pillaging and plundering without restraint. Observing this, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher remarked, “The veneer of civilization is very thin.” This truth is becoming more apparent in our time, and this veneer is getting thinner. The Lord is not just going to rebuild the veneer; He will lay a solid foundation for His kingdom.

      This is why the Lord is not just seeking obedience, but obedience from the heart. He does not want us to do what is right because of constraints that prevent us from doing otherwise, but He wants us to do right because His righteousness is in our hearts. Who we really are is who we are when no one is looking. We are called to be faithful when we could get away with giving in to our lust. We don’t give in because that is not in our heart, and we follow the Spirit, not our flesh.

      In truth, we can never get away with sin, because God sees it. To be restrained by this knowledge is the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The highest wisdom is to restrain ourselves because we love Him, and we don’t want to do anything to displease the One we love. We agree with His truth and His ways.

      With lawlessness increasing so fast in our times, and the ancient foundations being destroyed, there is a need for greater restraint by governments. However, most are failing at this. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:8-9, “But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane …”

      So, constraints have their place when controlling the lawless, but the Christian should not need them. If the lights go out, we Christians could pillage and plunder, but we do not because this is not in our heart. It is not who we are. But lawlessness is increasing in the world, and people are increasingly casting off restraint so that pillaging, plundering, and murdering are increasing. If governments are weak against this onslaught, it will grow even faster, and soon the governments themselves will be plundered.

      As laws and restraints are increasingly disregarded—and as the pace of the meltdown of civilization increases—we must resolve that we will grow even stronger in the Lord and live by His Spirit. We must also help one another in the body of Christ to live by His Spirit, and we must be willing to become increasingly different from those who are of the spirit of this world, the spirit of lawlessness.

      There are some strong leaders in the world who will be used to slow the pace of corruption for a time, and these are from God to give His people more time. But if they do not fear God and follow His Son, they will be subject to becoming tyrants. As the lawlessness gets so bad, the people will desire tyranny over lawlessness. For the followers of Christ, there should be no difference in behavior despite any of the conditions of this world. We live in and serve another realm—the kingdom of God that is not of this world and is not subject to it.

      We are headed toward the greatest time of tribulation the world has ever known, but we do not need to be troubled. We have a peace the world cannot even understand, and we have built our lives on the coming kingdom instead of this world. We are told in Isaiah 40:3 to prepare the way for the Lord by building a highway. Even now, the King is sending forth messengers to prepare the way by spreading revival and awakenings. These people are building a highway to His kingdom—His higher way.