Valentines Day...

Today is St. Valentines Day. On my way to work this morning, in the spirit of the moment, I stopped at Coles to get some chocolaty morsels for my workmates. After being greeted with the typical cashier’s opener, “Fly buys?” I attempted to share my joy with her, “Happy Valentines Day!”

Her response, “American rubbish!” set me back. I quickly assumed that she meant the holiday and not the customer in front of her. Obviously she didn’t pick up my accent. Then she continued, “The sad thing, really, is that we Australians have taken it on!”

As I drove the rest of the way into work I pondered my early morning confrontation. And I compared it to a statement made yesterday in parliament by Liberal MP Danna Vale that Australia could be a Muslim nation in 50 years' time, “when you actually look at the birthrates and you look at the fact that we are aborting ourselves almost out of existence . . . you multiply that by 50 years, that's 5 million potential Australians we won't have here.”

While I am sure the Coles clerk wouldn’t have slighted Americans on public television, as MP Vale did Muslims, the attitude is similar. How would you feel if Australia was mostly Muslim in 2056? What about mostly American? Japanese?

Honestly, it baffles me. We all – Creationist and Evolutionist alike –
started out from one place. It was either primordial sludge or preeminent Judge. To which are we returning?

God gave clear instructions to His people through Moses that, “The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:34). Moses took this so deeply to heart that he put his salvation on the line for others, “But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written” (Exodus 32:32). Such words demonstrate that Moses lived to lead people to salvation.

John walked and talked with Jesus. He saw Jesus as our example, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16). Would you lay your life down for your brother who wears an eastern robe? Would I die for a lady in a Coles uniform? Let us humble ourselves that it may be so.