1: The Beginning of Birth Pains — What the Riots Reveal

 


Beloved in Christ, open your eyes to the headlines. Streets in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Tirana, Milan, and other cities have burned. Peaceful marches over the cost of living and failing schools were overtaken by firebombs, arson of city halls and tourist offices, looting of shops, and clashes that left hundreds of police injured and thousands arrested. Similar unrest has flared in Italy, Albania, Portugal, and beyond. This is not merely politics or economics. It is a symptom of a deeper spiritual reality.

Jesus prepared His people for exactly this kind of world. In the Olivet Discourse He said these things “must take place,” yet He commanded, “See that you are not alarmed.” Wars, rumors of wars, and the rising of nation against nation are the beginning of birth pains—not the delivery itself. The same pattern appears in the increasing lawlessness Jesus warned would cause the love of many to grow cold (Matthew 24:12). Economic hardship, frustration with governments, and the readiness of some to destroy rather than build are the fruit of fallen human nature left unchecked by the restraining influence of truth and righteousness.

Paul described the last days in language that sounds like a news report: “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:1–5). When people love themselves and pleasure more than God, when self-control vanishes and brutality becomes ordinary, the streets eventually burn. The riots we are watching are not a surprise to those who take the Bible seriously; they are the predictable result of rejecting the Lordship of Christ.

What lesson does this hold for the church? First, do not be alarmed or driven by fear. The Lord who sits in heaven laughs at the raging of the nations (Psalm 2) and holds every event in His sovereign hand. Second, refuse the world’s diagnosis and its solutions. Economic packages, new politicians, or more government spending cannot cure the heart problem of sin. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ—His perfect life, substitutionary death, and victorious resurrection—can change a person from the inside. Third, recognize that these birth pains call the church to greater faithfulness, not panic or political obsession. The gospel must still go forth. Believers must still live as salt and light. And we must keep looking for the blessed hope of Christ’s return.

The world is not falling apart by accident. It is falling apart because it has rejected the only One who can hold it together. While the streets burn, the Word of God stands. While governments falter, the kingdom of God advances. While many grow cold, those who endure to the end will be saved.

Call to Action:

Read Matthew 24:4–14 and 2 Timothy 3 this week. Ask the Lord to keep your heart from growing cold. Share the gospel with at least one person who is anxious about the news. Pray for the safety of those in the affected cities and for the salvation of many who are caught in the chaos. And keep your eyes on Christ—He is coming, and the birth pains will one day give way to the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior.


DMMC 

10-19-26


Location: Dublin, IN, USA

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