Luke
21: 25-36
“Whither
Will Thou Go?”
There are many books and movies that
address the issue of the future of the world. Few target the immediate future.
The Bible is the only book I know of that seeks to help us live day to day with
an eye on the future. It gives guarantees, cautions, and assurances of tomorrow
and the years after tomorrow. It should help us live better.
Yet even with the assurance of scripture
I get really nervous if I am asked to do something I’ve never done before or go
somewhere I’ve never been. It’s almost like I have a “nervous interlude” that
suddenly makes me feel and act 5 years old again.
“I don’t know how to do that,” or “I
don’t know how to get there,” or the “traffic is going to be really bad,” or “I’ll
look pretty stupid not knowing how to do that” defense that comes to mind.
Are you with me on this, men? Or don’t
you want to look like a wimp in front of the children? But that’s really what
I’m talking about – safeguarding our ego and dignity by regressing to our
childhood – sounds like it should work, right?
Remember that preachers are to present
fruit and not flowers to their targets. So if I touch a little close to home
today – I’m there to. I’m speaking for myself.
We know it’s not easy to overcome our
human nature. Life is not easy. Life’s struggles sneak up on us. Billy Graham
once said, “Man is both dust of the earth and breath of God.” I would agree and
add, rarely both at the same time.
William Hazlitt wrote: “Man is the only
animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the
difference between what things are and what they ought to be.” Have you ever
realized that sums it all up?
And that’s the crux of the biscuit: We
always need to keep a firm perspective on the “ought to be” that Jesus tells us
about. In doing so, we should learn to reduce our need to obsess on getting
everything right and focus on being prepared for the promise of what is to
come.
Jesus knew His disciples would struggle
with discouragement and change in the days to come: Listen to Jesus talking to
His disciples as they are preparing to enter Jerusalem prior to Palm Sunday:
“There
will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth distress among
nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint
from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of
the heavens will be shaken.
Then
they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.
Now
when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because
your redemption is drawing near.”
Then
he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as
they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already
near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the
kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away
until all things have taken place.”
“Heaven
and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Be on guard so that
your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the
worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it
will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.
Be
alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these
things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
After reading this passage my first
thought was a simple one: Be prepared, having your eyes open, your feet on the
path, and your heart and mind fixed on Jesus.
Forget Hollywood, forget Annapolis,
forget D. C., let God manage current and future events – after all He
created it and it’s His mess to clean up.
Otherwise we’ll be caught not expecting
the world to end, caught focused on things we really have no effect on.
The danger we face is in complacency:
Accepting the imperfection of human status quo as best there is and falling
prey to its pale imitation of peace and hope.
We should not be engaged in any program,
project, or endeavor that requires even a moment of hesitation at God’s
invitation to enter His kingdom.
We need to love our future heavenly
place so much that we have no reservations in beginning the trip. Tickets to
eternity in heaven require an advance purchase!
While we love our family, our work, our
homes, our community, how much more will we love the heavenly community? No
pain, no suffering, pills, shots, therapies, treatments, clinics, glasses,
anger, frustrations, or commutes. No time clocks, nasty customers, returned
merchandise, endless telephone calls, no Starbucks, or Keurigs.
Do you realize there won’t be
telephones, texting, web surfing, or cable in heaven? No Face-book, twitter, or
Craigslist. There will be love, joy, enthusiasm, hope, and the end of
disability. Friends and family will meet and greet us. We will be finally and
truly home with perfect truth and justice.
I occasionally love to sit in public and
watch people. I try to remember how we were 25 years ago before cell phones and
the internet took over our society. Our communications systems were slower but
I think we were more independent and individualistic. But there is one glaring
change most people don’t see.
When a person sits down in the mall they
are 75% more likely to pop that phone out and call, text, check e-mail, or surf
the web. Personal, face-to-face interaction with others, particularly
strangers, has dropped off. So has our relationship w/God.
In a world where communication across
the globe is instantaneous we’ve stopped talking over the back fence, and
people are more isolated. Distractions and busy schedules keep us from watching
and preparing. Things that insulate us from further dealing with changes and
things we don’t understand – things that force us to consider regressing back
into childhood in ways we don’t see.
And we’ve stopped believing in faith and
more in sensationalism. The reason no one is preaching preparation for Jesus
second coming is that very few really believe it. Even among the most sincere
believers, the Lord’s return is still more theoretical than real, and to think
of Him coming soon takes a huge shift in behavior and attitude that few are
willing to make.
I think we should all focus on two
things to prepare for His coming. The first is to exercise our faith to make it
stronger. We do this by walking by faith even if we aren’t currently
experiencing difficulty.
Learn to rely on the Lord again as at
the beginning of our walk with Him, not making any decisions without seeking
His will. Pray without ceasing, pray about everything.
Study His word daily. Put Him back in
charge of our lives. Start acting like we really expect Him to appear soon.
The second thing is to keep working to
simplify our lives, getting rid of all the things that distract us from
nurturing our relationship with Him. The old saying is true. We work to get
things, and then we work because we have them.
These things divert both our time and
our resources from “Kingdom activity” that would bless us and please Him. Let’s
start extracting ourselves from the grip this world has on us and focus more on
the next one. This one only has a few more years to run, but the next one lasts
forever.
Doing these things would make our lives
into an example for others that would probably bring more people to the Lord
than any other evangelism programs could ever accomplish. Folks always respond
better when they see that we actually believe what we’re telling them.
To put it the way Jesus would have if He
was a 21st century human: When God calls, don’t put Him on hold to
check your e-mail.
Amen.
