My take: The end of the world as we know it

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve been aware of the doomsday prophecy that’ll be set to begin in roughly 24 hours. According to Harold Camping (who says he’s done a Da Vinci-style breakdown of numeric codes throughout the Bible), it’s a certainty: Those who are “the elect” will be raptured up to Heaven, leaving the rest of humanity to suffer through five months of torment before the real end of the world, slated for October.

So, there’s that. Sounds like a real sweet weekend.

What’s that, you say? Are you pulling out a Biblical reference to refute Mr. Camping’s hypothesis? Matthew 24:36, you say? Oh, apparently they’ve got that covered. There’s a lot of case-making from the Camping camp (heh) that doomsday prophecies weren’t meant to be known by those guys at that time, but we can know now. But, see, I maintain a weak little thought of my own, and it goes a little something like this:

As Christians, we’re called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. That’s our job while we’re here – to love one another, encourage one another, and demonstrate what Christ has done in our lives in the hopes that all could see what Christ can do in their own lives. Paul wrote in Romans 6 that we are to be slaves to righteousness – we are to serve God. Not to second-guess Him, not to try and figure out His plan. It’s a pretty sweet gig, honestly. We are to be faithful, to be obedient, and yes, to be ready for His return.

Could that return be on May 21, 2011? I’m not ruling it out. But I’m also not ruling out that it could happen on any other day – a day that no fallible human could have predicted.

[The following opinion is solely of Jacquie and not intended to be a reflection of what God’s intentions may or may not be:]

I can’t help but wonder, though, if God won’t allow it to happen on May 21. Why? Fulfilling this prediction would glorify Harold Camping for guessing the right numbers and NOT glorifying God, who is infinitely more deserving of any and all glory.

[End scandalous opinion.]

God is capable of anything and everything, regardless of whether it’s predicted or not. I’ll continue to trust Him and depend on Him. Whatever days God gives us are nothing short of a miraculous blessing, and whatever comes, we should take each moment as a wonderful gift – an opportunity to give thanks, be obedient to God, and love one another.

Perhaps that’s what can come out of all of this.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. – Proverbs 3:5

 

“It’s Easter. That means I have to go to church.”

As we’re all well aware, it’s Easter Sunday. Also known in some circles as Resurrection Sunday, and in even lesser known circles, Technicolor Hard-Boiled Egg and Pastel Colored Peeps Sunday.

For many that observe this Sunday on even a remotely faith-based level, sometime this weekend, you’re making it to a church service. Mass, Eucharist, Singing And Clapping Your Hands In Choir Robes, or anywhere in between. Now I’m not one for statistics (and I don’t really have accurate ones), but I’m thinking at least fifty percent of churchgoers this weekend do not set foot in a house of worship the other 365 days of the year.

Which, of course, leads my wondering-prone mind to wonder some more: Why just Easter Sunday?

Without being courageous enough to go around asking folks why they only go to church on Easter, I’m left to my own devices. I’m sure that many people’s responses would fall along the lines of one of these statements:

• “It’s what we do on Easter Sunday. Right before brunch. Oh man, waffles + green beans = delish.”
• “I do it to make my parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles/little brother happy.”
• “If you’re a Christian, you go on Easter Sunday. God takes attendance.”
• “It’s the most important day in the Christian faith, so I feel like I should at least be here today.”

Let me just break each of these statements down with some of my own personal brand of insight.

“It’s what we do on Easter Sunday. Right before brunch. Oh man, waffles + green beans = delish.” Everyone has Easter Sunday traditions. Even if you’re hardcore Bible believers, we can celebrate many things around this time of year: springtime in itself is a time of resurrection – the earth is growing again after being dead all winter – and it’s no coincidence that we celebrate the greatest Resurrection of all around this season of rebirth. And okay, Americans have to have an abundance of food with every holiday. That’s fine. But where does your priority sit: with your tummy-rumbling desire for waffles, or with the fulfilled promise of everlasting life? Okay, that sounds like I’m your Bible-beating Aunt Mabel, but if you’re truly at church because you truly believe in what happened… that’s worth like ten stacks of waffles.

“I do it to make my parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles/little brother happy.” So I have heard this one from many people, especially my fellow twentysomethings: we don’t go to Easter services of our own accord, but out of appeasing our family member(s) that would consider our sitting in a pew as something that “would really mean a lot” to them. Most Sundays, you roll over in bed and mutter something about it being the day of rest, and snooze until noon. But see, when it’s Easter, you’re kind of obligated to make up for all the back-sassing you did on the other 51 Sundays out of the year. So you take up a pew, stand when you’re supposed to, sit when you’re supposed to, turn to the right pages in your Bible, listen to a possibly dry sermon, bow your head and pray and try not to doze off in the whole process. Food for thought: Could it be that there’s something beneath the pomp and circumstance that you’re not quite seeing yet?

“If you’re a Christian, you go on Easter Sunday. God takes attendance.” I say this with all the love in my heart, but I can’t help but wonder if real Christians – serious, faith-having, maybe not pious, believing, for-reals Christians – would really consider this logical. I for one don’t believe anything magical happens by sitting in a pew on Sunday morning. Sure, it’s part of Biblical instructions for believers to gather together publicly to worship God and study Scripture, but is it the cure-all for spiritual ailments? No. Not if you’re simply sitting on a bench with a preoccupied mind. You won’t “get it” spiritually just by sitting in church and singing some songs. That’s something between you and God, and God’s more than eager to let you see the true benefit of gathering to worship Him. All you have to do is let Him.

“It’s the most important day in the Christian faith, so I feel like I should at least be here today.” It’s kind of like the statement above. I think if you truly are someone who seeks to know God a little better each day, someone who wants to exhibit the love, mercy, and compassion of Jesus Christ… you’d know that attending church should never be out of obligation. If you’re throwing a party, for example, do you want your guests to come with genuine smiles and honestly have a great time, or would you rather have people there that are clearly at your party because someone guilted them into going? It’s remarkable how honesty shows on people. If you’re somewhere that you don’t want to be, it shows. If you do consider yourself Christian, would it please you to know that begrudgingly sitting through a time of worshipping God might actually hurt His feelings? Consider this God’s weekly get-together. If you don’t want to be there, maybe you should just stay home.

Now, by no means am I saying that people shouldn’t go to church on Easter Sunday, even if it’s their only time going this year. My prayer and my hope is simply that your hearts would be in it, maybe just a little. Keep in mind that, for me (and maybe for you as well), church services aren’t about seeing how long you can go without falling asleep, or about standing up and sitting down and getting all the moves right. They should be a means of celebration for what God’s abundant love, mercy and grace has done for all mankind, and that should especially ring true as today, we remember Christ’s triumphant defeat of the grave so that no one – no one – would taste the misery of death.

Better yet, let’s remember it every day.