Living Fully

Should we be worried about the end time?

“But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; the one on the housetop must not go down or enter the house to take anything away; the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that it may not be in winter. For in those days there will be suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, no, and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut short those days. And if anyone says to you at that time, 'Look! Here is the Messiah!' or 'Look! There he is!'-- do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be alert; I have already told you everything. "But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. - Mark 13:14-27

There are many who believe the end is coming a lot sooner than we thought.

They see signs in the floods and fires, the heat and storms, and they want to force everyone to see what they see.

Jesus warns of days when the suffering will be greater than ever before.  Are these those days?  Are we there now?

And if we are, what can we do about it?

There is a man with a microphone and speaker who stands on the corner near our office and he holds a sign in English and Spanish warning of the end time.  It is time to repent, he says.

For him, there is no way to avoid what is to come.  All we can do is change our ways to save ourselves.

Is that the Good News Jesus came to share with us?  Are we all doomed in this life and salvation is for the hereafter?

If that is the case, why bother to cure the sick and afflicted?  Why rqaise the dead and heal the lame?

Maybe the message is more positive than it sounds.  Maybe the warning is for us to stop worrying about what is to come and live life fully.

We have a choice to make.  We can make the most of this day, help as many as we can, and feel really good about Creation and our role in it.

Or, we can stand on the corner and cry out for others to hear how miserable life is.

I choose to make the most of each day.  I have no control of how many of these days I have, but I can live each one fully.  I can make a difference for someone today.

And maybe they will choose to be positive about life too.

More gto come...