Okay, okay... before you get all freaked out thinking that I've gone totally nuts and now prescribe to Harold Camping's mathematical "proofs" that Jesus is going to come back in the next 24 hours (if you don't know what I'm talking about 1. Get our from under your rock 2. Read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Camping) or even the theological idea of the Rapture... I don't really believe any of it. I trust Jesus when He says that the Father alone knows the day and the hour that the Heavens and the earth will pass away [Matthew 24:35-36] and thus trust that there are no hidden mathematical formulas in the Bible that will tell us when He is coming back. Yet, I also take Paul seriously when he says that the "day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." [1 Thessalonians 5:2]
So I ask you, in all sincerity, If your final judgment was tomorrow... where would you stand? If Jesus really came back tomorrow and your life was laid before Him, would you stand with the faithful or with the regretful?
I'll be honest with you... There are times that I am not entirely sure that I know where I would stand. I know that I want to choose Him, but I wonder... have I prepared myself well for that choice?
Because I also know that I daily reject the Lord. I frequently choose an easier, more comfortable path. Whether it's tiny and small... waiting to do the dishes in the morning even though I know it slightly annoys my roommate when they get left overnight, or watching an extra half hour of TV instead of getting a good nights rest so that I can be my absolute best at my job the next day.... or if it's something big, something that really matters... allowing lust to rule my actions or skipping daily prayer because I'd rather do something "more fun"... I know that I still love comfort more than I love God.
So as crazy as many people are making Camping out to be, I believe there is value to be found in the media attention he's getting. He's got the world's attention (well... at least the social media world!). He has gotten news shows and Facebook feeds filled with talk about the impending doomsday that is supposedly coming quite soon.
So, where's the value?
The value comes in what is at the heart of Camping's warning of the coming Judgment. Whether it's May 21st, 2011 or November 18th, 5064 or anywhere in between, Jesus is coming and we all have to stand before His throne and account for our lives. The media coverage of Harold Camping's Apocalypse Prediction got me thinking about how much more I ought to be doing for the Lord, it made me more aware of my failings and the small choices I make against Christ. When we simply mock Camping's prediction and think of the apocalypse as one big joke, we dull ourselves to the reality that is to come.
Instead, I believe we take it with a grain of salt, understanding that Jesus likely won't be coming tomorrow, but allowing it to serve as an appreciated reminder of the final choice that is coming for each of us and that in order to prepare for that choice, we must "stay alert and sober...so that we may live together with [Christ]" [1 Thessalonians 5:6b&10b]
Ultimately God's providence wins out in the readings for today (technically, yesterday by about an hour!) where Jesus tells us in John's Gospel... 1. Have faith in Me 2. I have prepared a place for you in Heaven 3. When you feel like you don't know the way, remember that I am the Way. For whether we face our final judgment tomorrow or when we pass from this earthly life, we can trust that so long as we place our faith in Jesus and keep our eyes fixed upon Him as we follow Him that there is a place in His Father's house for us.
Harold Camping, a genuine thanks for reminding me to fix my eyes back on Jesus with a renewed vigor. And the greatest thanks to Christ who has given me strength and hope in His promise of eternal life.
in His peace...
-Teresa
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