The End of The World

When I was a teenager, one of the popular books of the day was "The Late Great Planet Earth" by Hal Lindsey. It was a book that scared the pudding out of me! It was still the era of the Cold War with Russia (USSR) and tension was always high. Lindsey used the Bible to explain the coming end of the world. His explanations were based on scripture and images that he put together to interpret a final war and the coming of Jesus Christ. After reading the book, I really thought that I might not grow up before all of this happened.

Since Lindsey's book, others have presented theories about the coming end of the world. Many of the views seem very logical or plausible. Are you worried about the end of the world? Do you think often about it? Does it seem that the world has gotten worse over the last few decades? Maybe you think about this idea often. Maybe you never think about it at all. I am often asked what I think since I am a pastor. Here's what i say.

The end of the world is coming. I know because I read the end of the book (the Bible). The Bible says in Matthew 24:29-31, "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other." I do not purport to explain the coming of the end. I only know that THIS world, as we know it, will come to an end. I know that Jesus Christ will come again and He will be the one to deal with Satan and all of Satan's followers (again... I read the end of the Bible). I know that Jesus has promised all of His followers a place with Him. (What that is exactly like, I'm not sure, but I do know that it will be better than anything I or anyone has ever experienced)

The world that we live in is bad, but I am not sure that it is any worse than it was 50 or 100 years ago. Maybe we just have faulty memories and believe that the past was always better. So I cannot say that the world is coming to an end because things are terrible. In fact, most Americans have a better life than ever and the freedom to choose to worship God in more ways than ever. Whether people make that choice is another matter. Therefore, the end of the world may be no more closer to happening within the next few years than it has been in the last 30. Matthew 24:36-37 tells us we do not know when all this will happen. "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah."

But the end of the world will come for us at the end of our lives. That is also a date we do not know. The answer to the question of when the world will end lies in our own deaths. For each this world will end. Thus, we might want to take heed to listen to Acts 1:11 "...Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky?" Live today a life of discipleship and keep your eyes fixed on serving Christ and the day will come when you may look up at Him with wonder and He will say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" God loves you. Until next time, blessings!

The Life, Death, and Life of a Lady

This past Monday I went to a funeral. This shouldn’t be much of a surprise because as a pastor, I often conduct funerals, but on this occasion, I was there to support my friends. The friends were Roger and Beth Durham and their children Josh and Heather. Roger’s mother, Mrs. Laura Durham, had died after a battle with cancer and I wanted to be there.

I had met Mrs. Durham on several occasions. She was so nice and always had a wonderful smile on her face. But, I think that I learned more about her at her funeral than I ever learned about her when I met her. She was not much into talking about herself. She was, in fact, quite unassuming and soft spoken. But there was always something special about her. It was something that was unspoken and yet it beamed from her like a lighthouse beacon. She was a devout Christian. Her faith could not be contained. It radiated out of her even if you met her on only a few occasions, you just noticed something about her. I want to let you read a portion of her obituary, “As can be attested by all who knew her, Laura was a truly devout woman of the Lord, a trusted confidant, a gracious and loving mother, as well as a devoted Grandmother and Great-grandmother. She exuded love in every encounter be it with family, friend, or stranger. Her life was a constant example of God’s grace and love on Earth. She warmed hearts, caused laughter, and fed the body and spirit of everyone until their heart was content. Whether she was baking cookies for VBS or baking bread and cinnamon rolls for family and friends, she warmed the hearts of everyone who knew her. Laura’s house was one of good cheer, continuous love, and unending patience.”

The funeral service was so appropriate. Her pastor Dr. Joe Worley recounted her tenure as a secretary at First Baptist. She was a pleasure to have in the office and represented the church with dignity and grace. One of her sons, Rev. Larry Fondren, gave the eulogy. His words were elegant and he emphasized that tears were due to loss of being with Mrs. Durham, not due to her future… because she was with her Lord. The service was a celebration of a life well lived and I was thankful to have been there to hear about the impact Mrs. Laura Durham had on all those whom she met.

The Bible tells us about life, about death, and about life after death. In John: 14, these words of comfort can be found, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

Was Mrs. Durham some sort of Super-Christian? Yes and no. She simply gave her life to Christ and Christ dwelt in her heart and ruler her very being. That is a blessing you can have too. All it takes is the humility to surrender your life and pray for Jesus to take it over. That’s it! No magic formula or special words… Jesus already loves you and is waiting to lead you. Mrs. Durham did that very well. Granted, not all Christians may be able to exude the kind of love that she gave, but we can give it our best shot!

My hat is off to such a wonderful story of Christian faith, may the same be said of us all at our funerals.