It’s the end of the world!
For generations, people have been seeing earthquakes, famines, tsunamis, droughts, floods, volcanic eruptions, blizzards, hurricanes, wars and rumors of wars, rapidly declining morality, rapidly increasing violence, economic upheaval, epidemics and pandemics, civil unrest, ecological catastrophes, outright lawlessness from citizenry and leadership alike, etc.
And things seem to be on the increase.
Morality and violence have certainly increased and culminated in the twentieth century being the deadliest century yet including two World Wars. Some Christians will point to the bible and say that the end is near.
“For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.” (Matthew 24:5-7)
Critics respond with something like: “We’ve been hearing the world is ending ever since my grandfather’s time and it still hasn’t ended.” They will also point out that some people have even, pompously and erroneously, predicted what year Jesus would return and point out that He didn’t. (Some proponents of those failed predictions perform unbelievable intellectual and theological gymnastics in desperate attempts to reconcile those failures.)
The critics are right though. In fact, it isn’t a new argument:
And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (2 Peter 3:4)
But even non-Christians are pointing to increased financial, political, climatological, ecological, and biological events and catastrophes, and they wonder how things can continue along this path without utter destruction and devastation. In recent years, NASA has warned of the mathematical probability of an asteroid that could slam into the earth and cause extinction level devastation, and some politicians and activists have made imminent "end of world" proclamations over climatology issues.
As a Christian, I fully believe that the coming end that Jesus spoke of is sooner rather than later. Although we are instructed to be watchful for certain things, we are specifically instructed to be ready above all else.
Regardless of whether you are a Christian or not, there is one fact that is known:
It's the end of the world for someone every day.
+ On average, someone in the world dies every two seconds.
+ On average, someone in the United States dies every ten seconds.
Whether the cataclysmic end of the world or someone's personal end of the world happens in the next 20 minutes or 20 years, it is someone's end of the world today.
It is the end of the world for them because they die whether naturally, from illness, or through tragedy.
Yes, by God's grace and the incredible skill of medical professionals, some people are resuscitated and may continue living for decades longer. However, that event only delays the inevitable. They will die and there will be no resuscitation.
That person could be a family member, a close friend, classmate, a coworker, a neighbor, a familiar clerk at a service station, a friendly butcher at a supermarket, or a even fellow church member. Their life is over. There's no second chance. There's no reset. There are no do-overs. You can't tell them things you meant to say but never got around to. You can't verify they knew what you should have said and never did.
Take a moment and imagine this scenario. A giant mechanical clock hangs on a wall of a dimly lit room. The clock's second hand is on the twelve o'clock position. Standing under that clock are twelve people you know: family, close friends, and casual acquaintances. They are dwarfed by the immense size of the clock above them.
Then the clock's second hand begins to tick forward.
As the second hand clicks at the ten second mark, randomly one of the people vanishes. The second hand continues onward unaffected. As it clicks at the twenty second mark, another random person vanishes. At the thirty second mark, a third person vanishes. A fourth person vanishes as the second hand clicks at the forty second mark, a fifth person vanishes at the fifty second mark, and a sixth person vanishes as the second hand returns to the twelve o-clock position.
Only one minute has passed, and half of your loved ones are gone never to return. Or perhaps you were one of the ones that vanished. Now imagine that each tick of that second hand was a day. Or each tick was a month. Or each tick was a year.
The length of time is inconsequential. They may have been with you longer, but either you or they will still vanish.
There is no way that we can reach, speak to, or influence everyone in the world, or even everyone in our state. However, we can reach, speak to, and influence people around us in our lives.
Entertainer, author, and prominently outspoken atheist Penn Jillette once said:
"How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate someone to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?"
Author, scholar, and Christian apologist C.S. Lewis said of Christianity:
"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."
I am stomping on my own toes with this post. I ask myself: Am I doing what I should to tell people in my life about salvation and eternal life through Jesus before some tenth second takes them away? Am I living in such a way that would make those people around me wonder what I have that makes me different; why I am at peace; why I am gentle and kind; how I can endure hardship with grace and joy?
I still pray that He would give me more and more courage and true desire to share and show those around me who Christ is.
Watch your toes: How are you doing with those ten seconds?
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