Scripture:
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”
“Who then is the faithful and wise servant…?” Matt 24:36 and 45a
Observation:
Chapter 24 is chock full of Jesus speaking of the end times or “That Day.” There is lots of stuff that can fuel the imagination and prod me into an investigation to find “the answer.” But, isn’t the Scripture clear that the ‘answer’ isn’t able to be sleuthed out because it is held by the mightiest of secret keepers?
Application:
I became a Christian in the early 70’s, right about when Hal Lindsey published “The Late Great Plant Earth”, my first book about That Day. I found that there was an abundance of writing about Jesus’ return. I was certain that the year 2000 was to herald the Coming of the Lord.
Oops, missed that. Maybe it is now 2030 or 2033? Beats me.
It is still curious to me why folks spend days and years trying to figure out an answer, a solution to something that is plainly not available to mortal man. Not only mortal men, but the complete inhabitants of Heaven, save for the Father Himself.
Am I supposed to look at the times and see the world in light of the plain warnings of Scripture? Sure, no argument there. I ignore the signs at my own peril of incompliance with His directive to be aware. But the question is how should I react? Scripture is plain and I don’t intend to list out the check points here.
The way I have chosen to act is adopting a saying for my life: “Live as if Jesus is returning today, plan like His is not returning for 100 years.” This is a delicate balance of saying (and meaning) “Come Lord Jesus, come” and persevering to the End. Endurance is a gift of the Holy Spirit and it implies that there is a time element that I have to grind out my Christian walk on a day by day basis. Romans 8:29 plainly indicates that God Himself is “conforming us to the Image of the Son”, another indication of a process rather than an instantaneous result.
So why have I found this important? Looking for a time, a day, a year to stake out doesn’t help me to grow in maturity and wisdom. How wise is it anyway to search for something that the Father is holding so close to the vest that not even the Son has a clue? Deut 29:29a says: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God…” The verse goes on to say that the revealed stuff belongs to us so that we can do all the things of the Law, or in other words, obey His Word.
Therefore, I pay attention but don’t waste my time looking for things that without a doubt cannot be found. I do, however, want to press into what He has revealed because those particular riches can never be plumbed to the end of discovering something rich in His Word.
Besides, it isn’t like there is an “End of Days” pool going on…
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for letting me have an imagination but one based on being astonished and amazed at Your Word. Serving doesn’t come natural-in fact it is downright antithetical to holiness but right in line with my innate sin nature. I want to mortify selfishness in me. Please give me insight on how to do this while in parallel empowering me through the Holy Spirit. Just knocking off the rust on the Armor bit by bit, daily. AMEN.