Left Behind! (Mark 13)

Left Behind! (Mark 13)

Mark 13.33-36 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning - lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. [nkjv]

In August 2008 a four-year-old Israeli girl was left behind at Ben Gurion International Airport at Tel-Aviv as her mother, father and four siblings rushed to catch a flight to Paris. The ultra-Orthodox family of seven, who between them had 18 suitcases, were in a hurry not to miss their flight and in their haste failed to notice that only six of them had actually boarded the plane. The girl was found crying and wandering around the departures hall by a police officer. It was too late to stop the plane as it had already left the terminal. As the aircraft gained height, the girl’s parents suffered the crushing embarrassment of being told by the pilot that their family was one short. They had apparently still not realised. There was a happy ending to the story as the little girl was put on the next flight to Paris, accompanied by a flight attendant. The forgetful parents were questioned by authorities upon their return home.

There is an event on the Christian calendar which is shrouded in mystery. No one knows exactly when it will take place or what it will look like but it is getting closer day by day. I am talking about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As a child in the late 70's and early 80's I can remember hearing preachers talk a lot about the return of Jesus. Planes falling out of the sky. The mark of the beast. Earthquakes. Famine. Disease. Persecution. The Rapture. It sent chills up my spine.

I remember coming home one day from school to find no one at home. There were no notes, no phone messages, just a freshly made cup of coffee on the table and no one around. The words of Larry Norman's song, "I wish we'd all been ready," came echoing back to me. One line in particular screamed loudly around in my head, "there's no time to change your mind, the Son has come and you've been left behind."

I panicked! Immediately I began phoning every person I could think of who I was certain was a better Christian than me, the only problem was no one was answering their phone!

Just as I was about to fall in a heap on the floor and plead with God for a second chance, I heard the familiar sound of my parent's combi van coming up the driveway.

Despite my misguided fears, there is going to come a day when Jesus will return like He said He would. To each of us His servants, He has left us with the responsibility for His house, given us His authority, and commissioned us with work to do. When He returns I am sure He will want to see just how faithful we have been with these in His absence.

My Dad had a very simple philispohy on end times. "Plan as though Jesus is never coming back but live like He is coming back this very minute."

I wonder what Jesus will find me doing when He returns?

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The World Will End December 21, 2012! (Mark 8)

The World Will End December 21, 2012! (Mark 8)

Mark 8.31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. [nkjv]

2012 will be a big year. On 31st January 2012, the second largest near Earth object, 433 Eros, will come close to Earth's orbit, making it visible with the naked eye. July 27th sees the Olympic Games underway in London. On November 6th Americans go to the polls to re-elect President Barak Obama, and on the 21st December 2012 the Long Count Calendar of the Ancient Mayans comes to an end, with many predicting cataclysmic events signaling the end of the world as we know it. Those of us who remember the media build up to Y2K will no doubt approach this imminent apocalyptic event with a great deal of skepticism.

Adding to the hysteria is a movie released later this year titled simply 2012. Although I approach movies like this purely for entertainment value and of course the special effects, I couldn't help think as I watched the trailer, "If I knew that my life would come to an end tomorrow, would I change the way I am living today?"

It's a fair question, one well worth consideration. Generally we choose not to think about it unless confronted by the death of a friend, sickness or giant asteroids plummeting to earth. I recently came across a post by a man named James. He had just undergone quadruple bypass surgery and asked himself the same question. I like what he had to say.

Jesus knew He had limited time on this earth. His ministry life was only three years, yet in that time He changed not only history but also eternity. When you know the value of time, life becomes purposeful, priorities shift and people become paramount. People become more important than careers. The health of relationships trump the pursuit of riches. I've never heard anyone say on their deathbed, "I just wish I had spent more time at the office!"

Unfortunately most of us tend to procrastinate. I am a procrastinator. No end date on a project means another day up my sleeve to hold off completing it. There is always tomorrow!

But what if there wasn't? What if today was all I had. How would I spend it? Who would I spend it with? What conversations would I have?

As Christians, we don't fear death but we do have a responsibility to be good stewards with the time God has given to us. Let's make a renewed commitment to make today count.

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