Beyond Me - Part 7: Interview with Kathi Macias

Continuing the interview with Kathi Macias, author of the new book Beyond Me: Living a You-First Life in a Me-First World (New Hope, 2008):

On page 137 you wrote about the children of Israel in the Old Testament: “But they began to presume on His grace and mercy. They forgot that, although they were saved by grace, there is still a law of sowing and reaping that even the sacrificial system does not override.

“And so, despite countless warnings to repent and return to the walk prescribed by God for His chosen people, they continued in sin, walking more and more in the ways of their idolatrous neighbors until they eventually ended up in exile in Babylon.”

I have heard that some leaders in the Presbyterian Church (USA) have actually said that the church should become more like our American society, being more tolerant of others like homosexuals. Do you think there’s a parallel to what happened in ancient Israel as you’ve referred to it here?

KM: The parallel is strong—and frightening. The Great Roman Empire imploded due to moral failure, and I see that possibility looming in our own beloved country. We can only spit in God’s eye and ignore His warnings so long before we can expect judgment to fall. I still pray and seek God’s mercy on our land and ask Him to send that gift of repentance, but I sometimes wonder if perhaps we have gone too far and judgment is imminent. Still, we must continue to pray—and to take a stand for righteousness every chance we get. Though we may be voices crying in the wilderness, cry we must, for countless souls are at stake. The Scriptures are clear that if we don’t warn the lost, then their blood is on our hands.

Do you see any warnings God is sending to the United States of America in our time like He sent to Israel, perhaps similar to the prophets of that time or other warnings?

KM: It would be easy to say that such catastrophic events as 9/11 are warnings from God—and perhaps they are. But I don’t pretend to be a prophet. I am simply a child of God who believes that every word in the Scriptures is true and worth dying for. Years ago I awoke from a sound sleep to hear God whisper to my heart, “Forever my Word has been settled in the heavens; now it is forever settled in your heart.” Despite anything I see going on around me—with or without obvious prophetic overtones—I will live and die based on the inerrant Word of God.

If yes, what is the way back to right living in God’s sight? What would it look like for individuals or our nation to heed the “countless warnings to repent and return to the walk prescribed by God”?

KM: Regardless of whether or not God is warning us as a country through current events, I don’t doubt for a moment that in His love and faithfulness He is calling us as individuals to repent and to commit our lives to His service. What would that look like? It would look like people who are more concerned with studying God’s Word and worshiping Him through obedience to that Word than to pleasing others and being caught up in the things our world thinks are important. It would mean giving of ourselves each time God gives us opportunity, and to do it without thought of reward. It would mean standing for truth even if everyone around us chooses to live a lie—and it means loving unconditionally those who disagree with and persecute us for our stand for righteousness.

From the book:

“As a parent, I did not wait until my children learned to walk to grant them admission into the family. They were mine from the moment of conception, and there was nothing they could do to sever that familial relationship” (p. 137).