Remember the cartoon of the guy on a sidewalk with the large sign that reads, “The end is near”? In the 50's it was a homeless guy with shredded clothes carrying a sign and declaring the end of the world. The sidewalk was crowded except for where he stood, as everyone went around him trying not to look at him or his sign. In the 70's it was a hippy with a long beard carrying the sign and declaring the end of the world. Again, the sidewalk was crowded except for where he stood, as everyone hurried around him ignoring the message and the messenger. In the 90's it was a business man in a faded suit trying to get everyone's attention, but it was obviously too late because he was practically alone on the sidewalk.
One of my favorite cartoons was a guy on the sidewalk, dressed in a long robe and carrying "The End is Near" sign. Although he too was trying to convince everyone that the end was near, there was no one else on the sidewalk and no cars on the street. In this version an arm is reaching down from a dark cloud above, slipping up behind the guy with fingers ready to flick the guy off the sidewalk the way you would flick a bug off a table. Recently I saw another one, in which a couple in a car has just past the guy carrying the sign. Of course it reads, "The End Is Near", and the driver of the car has just noticed a Dead End sign at the end of the street. He says to the passenger, who is still looking back, "Well, actually he does have a point".
Over the years the cartoon has been updated to reflect the times, but the messenger does have a point: The end is near. It's not just a message for kooks and cartoons; it's a message that has meaning for each of us today. If you look around you will see lots of people in a hurry trying to ignore the message and the messenger. You will also see the message being proclaimed loud and clear, on giant freeway billboards, in nationwide and local newspapers, and on the radio. Especially by an organization called Family Radio, which is convinced that this coming Saturday is Judgment Day. According to them it's clear that God's plan for salvation ends on May 21, 2011, and 5 months of tribulation begins (they've picked the date for the end of the world too).
I don't believe Mr. Camping's prediction about the end of the world, or his reasons about why this is going to happen, or his belief in how it's going to happen. But I do believe that it's going to happen, to all of us in some-way and at some-time, according to God's plan. Each of us must be prepared to be "taken up", not in the sense of a cataclysmic public rapture, but in a personal sense. The fact is that we must be "ready to go" at any moment, and maybe even without warning because accidents happen. The message is obvious, and it's important that we don't ignore the messenger. Jesus told us that no one knows when the end will come, but each of us knows that we won't live forever. Our "End Is Near" and we must remain vigilant, prepared, and in harmony with God's plan for our life.
One of my favorite cartoons was a guy on the sidewalk, dressed in a long robe and carrying "The End is Near" sign. Although he too was trying to convince everyone that the end was near, there was no one else on the sidewalk and no cars on the street. In this version an arm is reaching down from a dark cloud above, slipping up behind the guy with fingers ready to flick the guy off the sidewalk the way you would flick a bug off a table. Recently I saw another one, in which a couple in a car has just past the guy carrying the sign. Of course it reads, "The End Is Near", and the driver of the car has just noticed a Dead End sign at the end of the street. He says to the passenger, who is still looking back, "Well, actually he does have a point".
Over the years the cartoon has been updated to reflect the times, but the messenger does have a point: The end is near. It's not just a message for kooks and cartoons; it's a message that has meaning for each of us today. If you look around you will see lots of people in a hurry trying to ignore the message and the messenger. You will also see the message being proclaimed loud and clear, on giant freeway billboards, in nationwide and local newspapers, and on the radio. Especially by an organization called Family Radio, which is convinced that this coming Saturday is Judgment Day. According to them it's clear that God's plan for salvation ends on May 21, 2011, and 5 months of tribulation begins (they've picked the date for the end of the world too).
I don't believe Mr. Camping's prediction about the end of the world, or his reasons about why this is going to happen, or his belief in how it's going to happen. But I do believe that it's going to happen, to all of us in some-way and at some-time, according to God's plan. Each of us must be prepared to be "taken up", not in the sense of a cataclysmic public rapture, but in a personal sense. The fact is that we must be "ready to go" at any moment, and maybe even without warning because accidents happen. The message is obvious, and it's important that we don't ignore the messenger. Jesus told us that no one knows when the end will come, but each of us knows that we won't live forever. Our "End Is Near" and we must remain vigilant, prepared, and in harmony with God's plan for our life.
No comments:
Post a Comment