My Thoughts on the End of the World

As 2012 is hours away, I remember back 12 years ago when many people thought Y2K was the end of the world and all electronics would crash and burn, killing everyone. That was not the case. I think back to last May when that pastor predicted the apocalypse. Ironically, I still see those billboards up. And I think to the Mayan calendar that predicts the end of the world in a year from now.

But what if tonight really was the end of the world? Would I live today any different? This is a re-post from another blog I had that shares those thoughts. These are my thoughts on the end of the world.

(Originally posted May 20, 2011 here.) 
By now, I am sure that everyone has heard of the pastor in California who is convinced that the rapture will happen on May 21, 2011 and the world will end the following October. Because that date is so near, it was on my mind as with the rest of the nation (and maybe even world). Today as I spent most of my time in airplanes and airports, making my way to visit my mom, a great song came up on my iPod. I always thought of Bruce Cockburn's "Last Night of the World" as a love song expressing no regrets in life. Today it ironically had new meaning.

The chorus goes:
"If this were the last night of the world, what would I do?
What would I do that was different, unless it was champagne with you..."

From stories I have heard, people are taking this May 21 "prophesy" in different ways. I have heard of some who have sold everything they own, quit their jobs, and have gone on vacation. Others are planning post-rapture looting parties. So, I got myself thinking: if this really was "the last night of the world", would I change the way I live? And my answer in that honest moment of personal reflection took me off-guard.

Yes, I would. But not how I would have expected. When it comes to the issue of eternity and Heaven, I am 100 % certain that whenever the rapture happens (or I die, whichever comes first) that Jesus will usher me into Heaven with open arms where I will spend eternity worshiping the Lord. And I know it's nothing I have done that has earned (or could ever earn) my place there. Instead, it is everything Jesus has done in my place. He took all of my mistakes, short-comings, and everything else labeled 'sin' and died with them on the cross. Then three days later he conquered death so I could live free of the penalty of my sins. And he did all of this because he loved me so deeply that he wanted me to know God personally and intimately, both on earth and in Heaven. And all I had to do to save my place in Heaven was acknowledge what Jesus did and receive the life he offered me wen he rose from the grave. So I wouldn't change my actions to try and get into Heaven, because I already know I am going there. But this got me thinking about everyone who is not.

If I really knew that the rapture was going to happen tomorrow, I would want to tell people. There would suddenly be a sharp urgency to my words and to my ministry. But the reality is that I don't know. I can't know when it will happen. I only know that it will. In Matthew 24 it is written that we should always be prepared and we should always be ready. So why do I live my life with calm complacency? The stark reality is, whether or not Jesus comes back tomorrow,he is coming. And I am called to live my life with that expectancy and urgency.

So, if this was the last night of the world, I would do one thing different: I would tell you about Jesus. And it makes me wonder how different my entire life would be if I lived every day as the last night of the world...  
If this were the last night of the world, what would you do differently?

          “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

         “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

-Matthew 24:36-44