Revelation 9:20-21 The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood–idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

The whole point of this is that people will love their sins so much they won’t repent even when judgment falls on them. Frankly, I’m reminded of Hamas in Gaza right now. They are in an impossible situation, but they love killing Jews so much they aren’t about to give up, and their own civilians being killed in the process doesn’t faze them. Human beings are capable of great nobility and beauty, but we are also capable of unspeakable horror. It is our choice. Paul spoke repeatedly of people having “depraved minds,” because he couldn’t come up with a better description. It is at times incredible to those whose minds are not yet depraved. It is indeed beyond imagination that so many people fight so hard for the “right” to murder unborn infants. The Church of Satan was actually very honest in calling it a religious rite. The pun there is grim indeed. Those who have repented and thus know God are faced with the tragic reality that some people simply aren’t going to repent, and choose horrible destruction for themselves instead.

I don’t like to write on this, to confront this tragedy, but I have known people who were stubbornly unrepentant. I cannot make their choices for them, but I can make it clear to them what those choices are. Glossing over those choices is certainly not loving! The thing is, repentance is available right up to the last minute. Recently I have taken out some scrub trees in our yard, and because of local ordinances I’ve had to cut them up small to dispose of them in city trash bags. It struck me, as I was sitting there clipping branches into little bits, that people involved in mass killings probably operated much as I was doing, not considering the people in front of them to be more than the branches and leaves I was dealing with. I’ve read some reports that I would sooner not have known. However, some of even those people repented, and were saved. Corrie ten Boom was involved in the salvation of the very guard who had killed her sister in the concentration camp. I have to accept that some people aren’t going to repent, but I am never to write someone off while they are still alive. I am to speak the truth in love, and pray God’s mercy on them.

Father, this is hardly a feel-good passage. Help me be clear-eyed and loving toward everyone, trusting You and not them, or even myself. I long ago realized that I was capable of unspeakable horrors. Thank You for keeping me from them. May Your mercy and holiness be manifested as You bring the world, and mankind, into line, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!