For the righteous will never be moved;
    he will be remembered forever.
He is not afraid of bad news;
    his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

Psalm 112:6-7

The world is bombarding us with bad news all the time. All the time. And it’s to be expected, from a story telling point of you. The best stories are either comedies or tragedies. In a minimalist way, a tragedy is a story moving from happiness to sadness, whereas a comedy is a story that moves from sadness to happiness. Almost every single news story that we see moves in one of these directions, but tragedies are so much more prevalent, as they are a truer reflection of our worldly-human existence: Most of us start out as healthy young people, and over time, the aches and pains of life come followed by death. Of course it must be said that the Christian’s life is a comedy, in the traditional sense of the word. We start out here on this earth, full of pain and sadness, and then go to be with the Lord our Good in everlasting joy.

So what are we to do with all this bad news given in every media that exists, twenty four hours, seven days a week? A war here; a murder there; an arrest here; an affair there.

Jesus gives us a great idea:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

And when our hearts are firm, trusting in the Lord, and we’ve found rest for our soul, then is the time to see such need in the world for the gospel, the good news of Jesus, to be shared in the Earth. The tragedy story line of Earth is not going to change, but the comedy story line of Christians is still in it’s 2nd act, heading towards the climax that is Jesus returning to earth and defeating Satan once and for all. We are part of that story. The story of a gracious God who gave undeserving people a chance to live in everlasting peace and joy.  Or would we rather let the people around us complete their stories in tragedy?