There is a yearning in heaven for the souls of men.  If this were not so do you think God would have allowed us to crucify his son? Do you say, “I was not there to crucified him! I would have done no such thing!” Really?

Who are you, that God should think so highly of you as to send his Son into your hands?  You are wicked beyond repair.  By yourself you are nothing but death; both death to yourself and to all else. In your nature selfishness consumes you.

I do not say this to shock you.  I do not say this to make you feel bad or to elevate myself.  I say this to starkly point out the truth.

I have examined myself, and that by His grace.  I find no beautiful thing that lives within me.  Without the Lord Jesus I am hideous and violent.  And you, my dear friend, are no different.

If a man is civil it is either because he has loved lies, or that God has had mercy on how he was raised.  There is not one shred of decency among men, except that God has placed it there.  Left to our own we would devour one another into oblivion. Let me expose the truth with an example that most will find offensive.

In my younger years I lived on the Prairie in Montana.  For a price a farmer would allow you into his field.  But it was not a price you paid.  Rather it was a price paid to you.

I forget the exact amount.  But a farmer would pay you a small price for every tail of a gopher (prairie dog to those who know) you could bring back to him.

The animals would destroy precious farm ground.  They are exceedingly plentiful.  And a horrible nuisance to he who would profit from the land.

So we would take our little 22’s and go out.  The sport was to see how far away you could be and still make the kill.  A scope was an essential to the game.

I played this game long before I knew about Jesus.  I do not say this to justify myself.  But I say this for what comes next, that you may understand what I wrote first.

What I have witnessed in human nature I witnessed at the killing of Gophers.  Do you think you are sweet and lovely?  There is not one shred of love in you but that God has placed it there. Please allow this example to show you you are not lovely in yourself.

From a hundred yards or more we would take aim.  Through our scope we could see the dust fly up. By that we refine our aim.  The Gophers just sat there and watched with mute curiosity.

Finally a tiny piece of lead found its mark.  One down, more to go.

( If you are not a student of human nature, the following is not for your eyes to consume.  But if your soul is strong, and you are hungry for the truth, I will teach you something valuable.)

At 100 yards a man’s aim must be good.  Accuracy 150 yards is rare.  So we would challenge one another with distance.  The Gopher was our enemy.  The Gopher meant bounty.

Shot by shot we focused in.  Finally, a strike!  A kill!  A bounty!  But where there is one there is fifty.  Patience.

We learned to wait.  They will come at the smell of blood. 

They will sniff around; look, listen.  They are not concerned with their dead relative.  But in amazement I watched, learning what I would later call the “Gopher syndrome” in humanity.

They appeared from the hole to see what had happened.  The smell and sight made no impact.  But let one be wounded and thrash about, and frenzy consumed the mass.

The Gophers have no compassion.  They are full of hatred for the weak.  With a chirp he calls his buddies.  And with frenzy, they devour the one wounded.

They have absolutely no compassion.  They do not care about the dead.  They care only to kill the weak.  And God has left them as a sign.

Look at man. (If I could yell in text, it would happen here!)  Look at men!  Look!  See how selfish and hungry for hatred he is.  Do you think he is beautiful?  Then add to his plight folly.

Man is wicked to the core, and hopeless in his plight.  But for the grace of God we would be as those Gophers.  Did not for Nazis show us this is true.

Don’t we witness violence in rush hour?  Isn’t the workplace made to do harm to your way?  Promotion is made on the backs of many.  And we consider it a privilege and honor. Indeed, add folly to our plight! Aren’t families played with hatred for one another? And because of a lack of God in the house doesn’t America lean towards destruction?

But that God should leave a remnant among us we would be as evil as those animals are to their weak.  we would have destroyed one another a long time ago. The heart of man is desperately wicked and helpless, hopeless, beyond repair.

I have written this to show the need for redemption. I have written this to expose the shame of man. There is an answer to our helpless state. And God has allowed me to write extensively in this regard.

But let man first come to understanding of how wicked and helpless he is. Only then is the beauty of Christ reveal.

Will you agree?   Likely not.  The lie of man’s beauty was proclaimed long before you were born.  And it is only by the Spirit of God that we understand.

I know that what I have written here its distasteful to the majority.  They will write me off and give me no room to answer.  They will treat me as if I am one of the wounded on the top of the hole.  They will devour me with obscurity.  perhaps they will devour me with far more violence.

I call attention to the filth of men.  I call attention to the glory of God.  I call attention to the beauty of his Christ!  And for this these words will be hated.