Week 3, Day 21 - Redemption at the End of the World
"At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." Luke 21: 27-28
REFLECT
Do you worry about the end of the world? Do you spend much time thinking about what will happen then? What do you think will happen to you? Of course, a lot of people don't think much about it, assuming that they'll be dead and gone long before any apocalyptic events unfold. Or, as a character in an American comic strip said: "Don't worry about the world coming to an end today...It's already tomorrow in Australia."
Everybody wonders about the end of the world in one way or another. Politicians and scientists are currently arguing over global warming. One side makes dire predictions about current coast lines disappearing, while the other side says there is no real evidence for global warming. They argue that the current phenomena of temperature variant is part of the normal cycle. Scientists predict the sun will run low on energy, other scientists warn that a massive asteroid could collide into the earth at almost any time. On and on the predictions go. The point is people are worried about the end.
When Jesus's followers asked him about the end, Jesus had a specific and certain reply. He said that wars and rumors of wars will come and go. Kingdom will rise against kingdom. There will be earthquakes, famines, pestilences, and persecutions. But in the final analysis, the end of the world as we know it will not be an accidental cataclysm - it will be the intentional act of God drawing this history to an end. The Angels holding back the "four winds of strife" depicted in Revelation will be told to let go. The end will come and a new era begins with the saints in heaven for a period of time and returning to a new earth. The Son of God will come with "power and great glory" and that is when the final redemption draws near. Remember, redemption means to be freed by someone able to purchase your freedom. On the final day the world will see Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, free his people from this world to be released in glory into another.
MAKE IT REAL
Throughout today, do these exercises: when you see something good or beautiful (a part of creation, a person you appreciate, etc.) say to yourself: Now I see though a glass darkly, then it will be "better than this." In fact Paul says "immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine."
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