I’ve heard it said that we live in exciting times. It’s an interesting turn of phrase, but it can mean different things to different people, and many find it troubling. Consider how exciting our recent Presidential election was, but the excitement was either good or bad depending on whether you are a Republican as opposed to a Democrat. However, I’m not thinking about politics today, but rather about how Christians react to these troubled times.
For some people, Jesus coming again is like the ultimate government bailout. Times are tough, so come back, Jesus, and take us out of here. For others, it’s not so much a bail out as a confirmation of our faith when Jesus returns as prophesied in the Bible. And for others still, it’s an excuse to just be “chill”, because God has everything under control. And yet some might be happily anticipating what the Lord has in store for us in overseeing a new heaven and earth. Many different feelings about the same expectation, but how should we really feel about the end of days?
I remember more than twenty years ago one of my teenage daughters talking with me about the imminent return of Christ. Even then Christians were talking about Christ’s return at any moment. My daughter’s reaction as a teenager was something like dismay that Jesus might come back. She was looking forward to becoming an independent adult, establishing a career, possibly marrying and starting a family. Wouldn’t Jesus return cut her earthly life short? She knew intellectually that she should be joyful for Jesus to come back, but a young person with an entire life ahead of her felt understandably cheated.
I believe the way I answered was Scriptural. When asked about his return, Jesus told his disciples as recorded in Mathew 24:36, ““But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” My advice was that she embrace life and not worry about possibilities beyond her control. Christians were told from the earliest years of Church history to be prepared for Christ’s return. Just like then, we see all the evils of our time as a sure sign that the Lord is about to return, but the events of two thousand years ago and our experience of twenty years ago both illustrate that no one knows the day or hour.
1 Corinthians 1:7 advised those early believers, “… as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The writer of Corinthians is telling us our primary role is to live a blameless life and be worthy of Christ’s affirmation. We want to hear “well done, good and faithful servant.”
So let me say a few things about being “excited” about our times, because I don’t think we all appreciate the gravity of what will happen in the last days. It’s not something to be happy about, because everyone who remains on earth will experience what Jesus called “greater anguish than at any time since the world began” (Matthew 24:21). We can rationalize this anguish by saying it will only afflict non-believers, but that attitude seems rather callous. Christians should feel great regret that they couldn’t help save more people from experiencing that great anguish. Nor should we believe we should be “chill” (sounds a bit like lukewarm), because God is in control. After all, Jesus ordered his disciples to “go out in the world and make disciples of all the nations”, which makes unbelief at least partly our responsibility.
But enough negativity. Christians should be encouraged by the prospect of Jesus’ second coming, and about the generous warnings he gifted to us. Jesus explained that evil would proliferate in the last days, but he didn’t say that to discourage us. The Lord made it clear that troubles would be temporary. Jesus promised his disciples that all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. The comparison to birth pains is a vivid one because pain during childbirth is both commonly understood and was also one of the consequences of sin in Genesis. Nevertheless, everyone recognizes that those pains lead to new life, so we can take Jesus’ warning as advice to never give in to discouragement or hopelessness.
History also tells us that not all evil is a clear indication of the last days. The early church experienced persecution far more immediately physical than anything we are experiencing. The early saints were burned alive, fed to lions, murdered by gladiators, imprisoned, and executed. It must have seemed to some that the Lord must come back at any time, yet we are two millennia distant from their day. Who then can say with conviction what Jesus said we can’t know, the year that he will return?
With these thoughts in mind, here is my suggestion for Christians as we get ever nearer to Christ’s return.
- Instead of focusing on fear, commit yourself to knowing and serving the Lord. What you can truly control is you, so learn his ways and follow them as best you can. Instead of predicting the return of Jesus, live to be worthy of his approval.
- Represent the Lord on earth in the way we suspect Jesus would represent himself. He would be preaching the Kingdom, opposing prideful authorities, and standing on God’s authority alone. Take your mind off of your personal comfort and fear and redirect your attention to others so that many might be saved. You will find that doing good lifts your spirits and chases away discouragement.
- Take to heart the promise God gave to the prophet Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” We are immune from destruction because our heavenly father plans to prosper us, allowing us to thrive in the present without worry. As Jesus aid, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own trouble.” Live in the present.
You can probably think of more to add to my simple list. Our job is not to wait passively until he returns, but to represent the Lord in the affairs of this world so that many will be saved. Remember also, that the end times are not so much an end as it is a new beginning for all who trust in the Lord.