"And can it be a dream, that in the end man will find his joy only in deeds of light and mercy, and not in cruel pleasures as now, in gluttony, fornication, ostentation, boasting and envious rivalry of one with another? I firmly believe that it is not and that the time is at hand People laugh and ask: 'When will that time come and does it look like coming?; I believe that with Christ's help we shall accomplish this great thing. And how many ideas there have been on earth in the history of man which were unthinkable ten years before they appeared? Yet when their destined hour had come, they came forth and spread over the whole earth. So it will be with us, and our people will shine forth in the world, and all men will say: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner-stone of the building.'"So said Father Zossima in Dostoevsky's Russian novel, The Brothers Karamazov. It was published in 1879. The quote is from page 292 in the Barnes and Nobel Classics edition.
There will be a day when this dream becomes reality, but the Scriptures tell us that it will not be ushered in by any human efforts. The world is a ship adrift and sinking at sea with no land in sight. So it will remain until the return of Jesus Christ. His appearing alone will right the ship and guide it safe to shore. Our charge to keep is faithful service until then. He as commissioned us as salt to preserve and as points of light piercing the darkness (Matt. 5:13-14).
How then shall we respond to this? For myself I will pray thus, "Lord, make me as bright as possible. Let the light of truth, love and mercy radiate through me (2 Corinthians 4-5). Let me pursue the joy that can only be found by relinquishing my position at the helm of my life. I want you to be the captain of my soul."
See Isaiah 11, Matthew 24 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18 and Revelation 19-20
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