Readings for today: Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, Luke 21:5-38
Be prepared. It’s the Boy Scout motto. As an Eagle Scout, it’s a message that was drilled into me from a very young age. Be prepared when you go camping. Be prepared when you go hiking. Be prepared when you start a project. Be prepared for just about anything life will throw your way. I’ve taken that motto to heart. It’s served me well over the years. Perhaps it’s why I resonate so deeply with the passages we read for today. Jesus is essentially telling us to be prepared. Be prepared to suffer. Be prepared for the trials and tribulations to come. Be prepared for rejection. Be prepared for wars and violence and suffering and pain. Be prepared for natural disasters and disease. Be prepared for people to love injustice and ungodliness and unrighteousness. Be prepared for them to call good “evil” and evil “good.” These are just the beginnings of the birth pangs of the new age.
In this confusing time, many will claim to speak for Jesus. They will claim to speak for God. They will push their own agendas. They will offer up their own ideas in place of God. They will promote selfishness and pride and narcissism. They will promote unrighteousness and lawlessness and unfettered freedom. They will sound so good that many will be led astray.
There will be abominations of desolation. Incredible acts of self-worship and idolatry that would make the ancient Canaanites blush. Worship will grow cold. Honoring God will become rare as people choose to do what feels good or what seems right in their own eyes. It will be like the days leading up to Noah. The days when the Judges reigned in Israel. Hatred. Rage. Violence. Injustice. All will become the norm as the world rebels against the authority of God.
Any of this sound familiar? Any of this feel familiar? What’s a Christian to do in the midst of it all? Endure to the end. Persevere in their faith. Cling to Jesus. The world may hate us. The world may seek to destroy us. The world may persecute us. Throw us into prison. Torture us and even kill us. They may restrict our rights. They may label the preaching of the gospel “hate speech.” They may make faithfulness to the law of God a hate crime. They may drag us into courts. They may put us on trial. They may do all they can to force us to abandon our faith. These things have certianly happened throughout history and are continuing to happen around the world today. And Jesus promises things will get so bad that if they weren’t cut short – if God somehow delayed His return – no one would be saved.
Things will get so bad even nature itself will feel the effect. The sun will darken. The moon refuse to shine. It will seem like the stars have fallen out of the sky. And just when it seems like we cannot go on, Jesus will appear. He will come on the clouds with great glory and power! A trumpet will sound and the angels will gather His family from the four corners of the earth. We do not know exactly when this day will come but we know it draws ever closer. Seemingly with every single breaking news story! Climate change. Political corruption. Racism and hatred. Economic upheaval globally. Terrorism and warfare. The world seemingly stands on the brink.
So what’s a Christian to do? Stay wise. Be prepared. Make sure we stay about the work God has assigned to us. Caring for the least among us. The hungry and thirsty. The naked and ashamed. The sick and imprisoned. As we care for them, we care for Jesus. Seek the lost. Fulfill the Great Commission. Take the gospel to every tribe, tongue, and nation in the world. This is the work the Master has assigned to us and when He comes again, may He find us faithful!
Readings for tomorrow: Matthew 26:1-5, 14-35, Mark 14:1-2, 10-31, Luke 22:1-38, John 13