Do you remember saying this to your parents when you were a preschooler on a long trip? You were too young to read a map, or if you could read, you couldn’t match what the map said with what you could see out the car window. The number of miles on a sign didn’t translate to when you would reach your destination. We seem to have that problem now on a scale that boggles the mind, if we’re willing to consider it at all. Americans are busy people for the most part. Our jobs require our attention, our families require our attention, and we’ve got goals before us that require our attention. Busy, busy, busy. We’re so used to being busy that we feel uncomfortable when we’re not busy. Gotta keep our faces pasted to a screen of some kind. It started with cartoons when we were really little, then it’s the computer—and the phone—headphones. Busy, busy, busy. Multi-task is the way to get things done; the way to stay in touch, in the loop, what used to be called in-the-know. Have you heard the latest song? Seen the latest video? Heard the latest news? The focus may be different depending on your age, but the basic approach is the same. Don’t want to be bored when we’re young; don’t want to be left behind when we’re older.

What I have to say to you is stop! You have to stop the momentum. You have to stop and think; you have to stop and consider; you have to stop and ask for understanding. You have to watch what is going on—not what everybody says is going on—what is really going on. You have to consider the impossible, consider the unthinkable. In order to do that you need to listen to the scriptures. Reading and studying the Bible must lead to listening to the Bible. And listening to the Bible should inform your assessment of what’s happening all around you.

Do you remember this verse?

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

The key phrase for this discussion is: should not perish! Sometimes we might think about the end of the world; the pastor might give it some attention in his sermon or maybe some “odd ball” here and there might declare it as right around the corner. I’ve been tempted to do that myself lately given all the strange doings going on these days: earthquakes, wars, floods, fires…climate change. Watch out! Run for your lives!

We may take solace in a particular interpretation of the “end of days,” anticipating rapture or a version of millennialism. The fact is we don’t know if we’re there yet. We don’t know if this is it. The world around us is certainly giving attention to global changes, prompting a rising awareness of the profound impact of our actions. Burning the forests in Brazil or burning gasoline in your car has the potential to impact everyone, wherever they live. It’s been suggested recently that the world as a whole is reaching a “tipping point” because of the rising temperature of the earth. If we don’t stop this trend soon it will become unstoppable and will lead to even greater catastrophes. I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s certainly something to think about.

Indeed, as Christians we need to think about it. I’m not advocating a particular scenario, whether it’s of a millennial or scientific variety. But it can’t be denied that we live in interesting times. And we shouldn’t ignore it, staying in our groove, giving all our attention to our immediate concerns. God wouldn’t have given us the prophetic and apocalyptic writings if He didn’t want us to think—AND PRAY—about this. It’s not enough to just rely on the promise of redemption, knowing that we’ll go to heaven when it’s all over. We need to consider the possibility that this is it, that the world is on its last legs and things are about to conclude.

That’s the way the apostles lived. They thought in terms of the end of the world as an actual fact that was imminent. This didn’t prompt them to go sit on a hill and wait for it to happen; it prompted them to be vigorous in getting the word of the cross and salvation out there to a lost and dying generation, and living their lives anticipating that reality. And that focus was still there when the last apostle wrote the last document in the New Testament. They may have had to adjust their expectations as the second and third generations of Christians came along, but they still recognized the validity of that expectation and lived their lives accordingly.

With that in mind the chaos of the world should be viewed as an opportunity rather than a threat. It’s an opportunity for us to get our minds right. Instead of being caught up in the here-and-now, the threats presented by current events can enhance our appreciation for the fragile nature of our world; and prompt us to give focus to the immediacy of the promises of God. He will bring this world to an end. His power goes way beyond the impact of climate change, or the threat of nuclear warfare. The scriptures prompt us to recognize the plans of God, including the termination of this world, and demand us to live our lives in the light of that truth.

Remember the admonition of the Apostle John:

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

John was convinced of that truth and even though it didn’t happen in his lifetime, it was still an imminent reality to him. He had the personal experience of the crucified and risen Lord to reinforce is convictions. We have the indwelling Holy Spirit, the written Word and the reality of a precarious world to reinforce our convictions. But we must pay attention and evaluate what is taking place as an opportunity to bolster our convictions of an ultimate end to our world, and embrace the truth of the advent, the return of the Christ and the realization of God’s Kingdom.

How do we do that? The first thing we need to do is counteract the “rip tide.” The term refers to the ocean’s current resulting from the tidal movement of water through an inlet. In the right circumstances it has the capability of dragging swimmers far away from land unexpectedly. That’s what can happen to us if we allow the currents of public discussion to distract our attention. Social media seems to sweep over our culture continuously. It reminds me of the movement of small birds when they flock together at certain times of the year. There is no apparent leader, they just waft around the sky as an organized group with the flock continuously changing shape then landing on the ground or in a large tree momentarily. Then, after a short interval, they take off and start wafting around the sky again.

That’s what public opinion feels like to me. The term “narrative” is often used to refer to current public opinion on a given subject. Through social media people are able to continuously interact with one another, agreeing and disagreeing on a range of subjects. It’s distracting and has the ability to fill up our thought life if we let it, providing a way to share a common experience with others. And with so many people weighing in on whatever is of current concern, it can appear that answers are forthcoming through this collaboration. Confidence is often established through public opinion. If enough people believe something it must be true. Of course different flocks take different shapes and public opinion has a surplus of narratives competing with one another. However, taken as a whole, the contest of ideas is distracting and has the potential to mesmerize us if we’re not careful.

In order to counteract these influences we need to make the effort required in order to be informed by what the Lord has to say. And this applies to any given subject. What the Bible has to tell us can’t be relegated to a particular category of “religious” thought. God’s word has something to say about everything, but we need to let His narrative predominate in our thinking in order to counteract the riptide of public opinion; which means we have to read, discuss, and apply the scriptures as a matter of habit. Our go-to source of understanding can’t be the current narrative; it must be scripture animated through diligent study and prayer. It’s from that vantage point that we can ask the Lord if we’re there yet. Even if His answer isn’t forthcoming, by keeping our eyes on Him we’ll be reassured that we are going to get there in due time.

Halleluiah!

For further consideration see: Mark 13:1f; Matt 24:1f