In 2008, the country was shaken by news of a massive earthquake in Sze Chuan. And in less than 2 years’ time, China faced yet another disaster in Yu Shu County. In fact, if we would just flip through the newspapers, we realize that in many parts of the World, there are all sorts of natural and man-made disasters taking place every now and then, not to mention those that Man have grown too accustomed to and no longer find the need to report them in the News. As Christians, apart from causing us pain and sorrow, I guess these unfortunate events serve as strong reminders to us that the end is really near.
In Matthew 24: 4-8: “Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ’, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”
There have been many speculations on exactly when Jesus will come again and recently, many seemed to have agreed on the year 2012. But we know that when the Lord comes it will be as a thief in the night, no one will know exactly when the time will be. Yet we know He is coming…and coming really soon. And I am writing this note, because the thought of His return stirred up mixed feelings within me.
On the one hand, I am filled with joy and hope that He will be coming back for us. Just as He promised, He has gone to prepare places for us and when He returns, He will fetch us to be with Him forever. And often when life gets hard, I would pray that that day would arrive sooner to put an end to present sufferings.
Yet, on the other hand, the end of time also caused me fear. For as the day draws near, man deceivers would arise. Though I have been a Christian for almost 20 years now, and have heard His Word probably since I was in my mother’s womb, I still can't help but worry that I am not ready to decipher right from wrong. In fact, the older we get, the more our ambitions and desires and thus the easier it gets for us to stray away from Him. Moreover, the deceiver often appears in sheep’s clothing, tricking us with their seemingly flawless “truths”. Can we say with certainty that that we will not be deceived? At least for me, I can’t.
In addition, each time I remember my loved ones, my relatives, friends and all the unbelievers God had put in my life, I shudder at the thought of the end. For we know then, that the door would be closed and many would be shut out. And if we agree upon 2012 (and who knows, it may just be earlier), we find that seriously, we don't have much time left. Time is ever so precious! Yet, for most of us (myself very much included), our lives are spent on everything else except spreading His love.
I am not writing this because I feel I am in any position to lecture my fellow brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ. I am writing this simply because I heard a sermon this morning regarding the end of time and it struck me so deeply that I see the need for a reflection. As the end draws near, all the more we ought to stay alert and be prepared for His coming.
愿与众弟兄姐妹们共勉,
caiyun