Good Times and Bad
Good times are coming.
'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' - Acts 2:17-21
We tend to think of the end times as scary, but in today's reading from The Acts of the Apostles, Peter says something that is surprisingly different from the vision of death the end times may bring.
He quotes the Book of Joel, telling those who witnessed the Holy Spirit's power that this is what Joel was talking about.
The good news is that there is a message for everyone, not just for a few. All can and will be saved, if they trust in God.
The fact that all could hear the message in their own language gives us reason to believe the whole world is chosen to be saved.
But I don't think we like that message. Isn't it better for some to be worthy of salvation and others not?
When we waste our time looking for justification of our goodness over others, we turn our attention away from God, and in doing so, give up our place in the Kingdom.
Choosing to be outside the fold tells God we don't want to be saved. We want to be exalted.
When we accept that all are equally unworthy of salvation, we humble ourselves. We become one with all, and that leads us to be open to loving our neighbor.
Of course, some of us feel we are much more loving and accepting than others. We compare and we know.
But it is not a competition, is it?
We cannot help it. If we can manage to accept that we all get a seat on the bus, some will still insist on sitting in the front, wanting others to go to the back.
It is our nature.
That's why we need the help of the Holy Spirit. Through the power of the Spirit, we can see, speak and hear the truth. Whether we accept it or not is another story.
More to come...