Yesterday morning I was reading headline news from across the nation and one headline in particular grabbed my attention. It read:

Man Charged With Killing 4 In Mayberry Model Town.

On Sunday, November 1, 2009, four men were murdered in the small town of Mt. Airy, North Carolina. For those of you who are not fans of the "Andy Griffith Show," you may not know that Mt. Airy is the hometown of Andy Griffith and served as the model and the inspiration for the fictional town of Mayberry on "The Andy Griffith Show."

Police have not released the reasons for the murder, but they did say that they did not believe the killings to be random. Mt. Airy is a small town and has a population of around 8,700. This violent act has turned this little community on its head.

Isn't it ironic that even in "Mayberry" we see the influence and power of the world. A town that is supposed to be the model of "small town America" is not immune from the influences of the world. Have you ever just contemplated how fallen the world is? Have you ever sat and watched the evening news and felt terrible after doing so? Have you ever wondered how people can do the "unthinkable" things they do? The evening news feeds us a steady diet of immoral and unconscionable acts perpetrated on fellow human beings. After a while, such "bad news" can have a negative impact on our emotional and spiritual well-being.

But here's my advice: Don't allow the events of this fallen world to bring you down. Rather, let this fallen world cause you to lift your eyes in expectation and hope for a better world that is yet to come! Remember that God never promised us that we would have Heaven on Earth, "but according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells" (2 Peter 3:13 NASB).

It far surpasses Mayberry!
Through the years, many have wistfully wanted "Mayberry" to be their hometown. For the child of God, they have claim to a hometown that far surpasses that of "Mayberry"!

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body (Philippians 3:20-21).