Hello My Chickadees,
Every generation, since the time of Jesus’s departure from this earth, has talked about His return. There have been countless books and numerous movies alerting us to the signs of ‘End Times,’ and the promise of Jesus’ return. There have been countless sermons preached about it and endless warnings to get ready for it; but how seriously are we taking these predictions? It’s easy to go about our day consumed with our own affairs and dismiss these fore-warnings as mere terrible things that happened and not connect the dots about this system of things ending.
Within the last year, we have been experiencing a global pandemic, which I have been referring to as a plague, of which it seems like there is no end in sight. The powers that be are finally having to admit to the fact that all the natural disasters we are experiencing are related to global warming. And, oh maybe, we need to do something, as all creation groans and labors with birth pangs (Romans 8:28). Violence is off the chain and not even kids are exempt as the love of man waxes cold (Matthew 24:12). We have seen a 500% increase in violence since 1960 in the United States alone; and we constantly live under the threat of a terror attack as wars and rumors of wars are part of our everyday existence.
Last month I blogged about being hacked, and it has made me alter my morning prayer to include asking God to make me and my loved ones invisible to the enemy. The singer/songwriter Marvin Gaye sang the question, “What’s Going On?” and my response is that Jesus must be coming back soon. With every sick, sad, catastrophic thing I hear on the news I say (and sometimes out loud), ‘how long Lord, how long?’
I reflected upon a conversation God had with Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 when He stated, “At times I might shut up the heaven so that no rain falls, or I might command locus to devour crops, or I might send plagues among you.” But God offered a reprieve to this cataclysmic course of events. He stated in verse 14, “Then IF my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.” The fate of our world hinges on the two-letter word “if,” and a reckoning with the reality that we have missed the mark of ‘loving the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and loving our neighbor as ourselves’ (Matthew 22:37-39). I know God is long suffering and desires that no one is lost (2 Peter 3:9), and I’m happy about that, even though there are some folks that in my humanness, I wouldn’t mind it if He fired them up; but I nevertheless, ask the question, how long?
As I’ve gotten older, I find myself thinking more and more about my own mortality. My grandmother used to say, “None come to stay.” We are all pilgrims passing through, and when we are young, we think we have plenty of time on the planet; so ‘let’s eat, drink, and be merry.’ The only problem with that is that time marches on. It does not wait for us to get our lives together or make our first million. It marches on and like a thief in the night, before you know it, you’re reaching for that bottle of Miss Clairol to cover up some of that gray that’s invading your head. As we experience the painful reality that time waits for no one, the question becomes, what are we doing with the time that God gave us to live? Time comes with responsibility. We are sent to this planet on a mission; to leave it better because we lived, to touch a life and make a difference, and to show the love of God our Father everywhere we go.
As I reflect upon the times we are living in, I ask myself, if Jesus were to return this week, would I be ready? Am I living a ‘purpose driven life,’ or more specifically, am I fulfilling my purpose for being here and making good use of the time God gave me? Have I made an effort to love when it’s hard to see the Christ in people who appear to personify evil and the devil himself? Have I gone out of my way to show someone who is going through a storm in their life that I care? Would Jesus say to me upon His return, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant’ (Matthew 25:21); you did what I sent you to do?
I challenge all of us to pay attention to the signs of the time—that the end of this system of things is drawing nearer with every beat of our heart and every rise of the sun. By every indication that Jesus gave us in His word, regarding the signs of His return, it won’t be long. My question to you is, ARE YOU READY?
Peace and Blessings My Chickadees,
Gail