Did I Miss Him?

This note is spawned from a recent discussion I had with a friend of mine about what will happen with the future of the church, along with a section of “The Worlds Last Night” by C.S. Lewis. In this essay, Lewis Quotes George MacDonald, “Do those who say, lo hear or lo there are signs of his coming, think to be too keen for him and spy his approach? When he tells them to watch lest he find them neglecting their work, they stare this way and that, and watch lest he should succeed in coming like a thief! Obedience is one key of life.”

I find in many Christian circles discourses about “end times.” It seems to be an exciting topic; for a Christian it ought to be. I personally look forward to the coming of our Lord, to behold Him in glory; this should make the lowliest child’s heart jump. But, as MacDonald points out, too many times we miss the point of certain passages. We see how our Lord tells us he will “come like a thief in the night.” So we sit on our porch with a baseball bat listening to every sound the passing wind might make. Staring this way and that, fearing a burglar in the midst. All the while, the house is in disarray, cobwebs on the walls, dishes in the sink, and bills unpaid.

I can remember sitting in the fellowship hall of my old church watching the news from Iraq during Desert Storm. Then turning around the next moment only to watch a documentary about Nostradamus and his prediction of a man with a blue turban from the middle east and how he was to take over the world. I was convinced Christ was coming back before I got to High School. Guess what, he didn’t. All of that worrying and freighting was for nothing.

The point is, we should not argue about what signs there might be, as if recognizing them might delay or speed Christ’s return, but be ready. Work out our salvation, clean our house, do the dishes, pay the bills. My opinion is that the “end times” literature was not meant to give us a road map to the future, but an end to work toward. To give us both hope and fear. Hope in the fact that Chris will return, and fear to push us forward in our works that we may be found blameless before the throne.