There's been a lot of talk lately about the end times, and if nothing else it's got me to thinking.
May 21st came and went without incident, and I'll have to admit that's what I was expecting. My reasoning? The verse in the Bible where Jesus says no man knows the day or the hour.
Today I heard the newly predicted date is October 21st. My first thought was, "Here we go again." But then it occurred to me.... it has to happen eventually. Anyone who believes in the Bible knows that the end times will come, we just don't know when. And this morning it even occurred to me that maybe God WOULD tell someone when it's going to be. Maybe when Jesus was speaking, he simply meant that at that time no one knew yet. Wouldn't be the first time we've totally misinterpreted what he said. (People were pretty off about how the whole Messiah thing would play out.) I don't necessarily believe that this guy knows the world is going to end on October 21st. But I also don't believe that I know for certain that it won't.
Today I watched this video someone shot while taking cover in Joplin, MO as a tornado tore apart the building around them. It made a huge impact on me.
tornado
The picture isn't very good, but listening to the people as the tornado ripped through brought tears to my eyes. And that's when it hit me.
The end times come every single day. Some people are expecting it and some aren't, but life in this world ends for them just the same. Hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes. Getting hit by a bus when you cross the street. End times.
What difference does it make if the end times come because Jesus has returned, or if people face their end times because of a natural disaster? Should the way we are living be any different, whether Jesus is returning soon or not?
I want to live my life every day in gratitude for what God has done for me, and I want to offer that hope to those who need it the most.
October 21st will be the end times for somebody, even if it's not everybody. I don't want to be a scoffer like the people outside Noah's ark. I want to live every day from now until October 21st and beyond offering hope to people who need hope, never forgetting to be grateful for what He's done.
Because then.... and this is the greatest hope of all...... then the end is just the beginning.
About Me
- Tracy
- I have an amazing family made up of my husband, Leonard, and all our kids and grandkids. Leonard's son Brad is our oldest and he's married to Jess with a daughter Keaton and two sons, Hutton and Rustyn. We have a daughter Jenelle who is attending college and intends to invest her life in working with teens. Our other daughter, Rachel, is married to Aaron and has a girl named Ellie, a boy named Ezekiel, and a baby girl named Scarlett. We have a Chocolate Lab named Jack and a 1/2 German Shepherd / 1/2 Alaskan Malamute named Kairo. We lead a pretty simple life, and that simple life is what we love!
2 comments:
Oh! Well-Said!
Thank you Tracy for allowing God to use you to put things into perspective. My thoughts were like yours on May 21, I was pretty certain that this was not going to be the end, although sad to see the scoffing about end times which the "prophecies" engendered. God however can handle the scoffing far better than I can so I'm not fighting His battles for Him. I would get it wrong anyway because I don't have His perspective. It did cross my mind that although Jesus had made it very clear that the end would be "like a thief in the night" and no-one would know the date for definite that didn't mean that it was definitely NOT that day. You however, have reminded me that for some people it was indeed the end of their time here on earth. We can only pray for people that as their eyes close here on earth they open them again in heaven. My thanks again.
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