nigh

it's the end of the world...not. while the high school kids
were going through their last day before break, i was just
sitting at home playing littlebigplanet and studying calculus.
also, i watched a daytime drama while i was waiting for a
system update on my ps3. i actually enjoyed it- an obvious
sign of the apocalypse. haha, but then i thought to myself,
"well, what if you knew today was going to be your last?
would anything be different?" at first, i imagined those people
that would spend their last day partying until they all died
due to curiosity, stupidity, and a total disregard for anyone's
safety. then i thought of those on the opposite side of the
spectrum. the people that would spend their last day resting
and would rather sleep through the zombie outbreak than
survive and possibly save others even if only for a day.
and then i thought, "what would you be doing right at the
moment that Jesus came back? would you be honoring Him?"
of course, if i knew the exact time of His return, i wouldn't
hesitate to try making disciples and share the gospel to literally
every single person i came into contact with. but i don't know
when He will be back and sadly, most of that urgency is pushed
to the back of my head. we do realize that He could come back
tomorrow, don't we? and knowing that, none of us are entitled
to our next day. so, would i be honoring Him in what i do?
the point is this: we are supposed to offer up everything in and
around our lives to Him as worship so that He is magnified.
the fact is this: we are saved by grace through faith in Christ,
so when the second coming occurs, we have nothing to fear-
we don't have to be doing good works at that moment in order
to be saved. but shouldn't we want to be witnessing, preaching,
loving, and worshiping before and at the time of His return?
shouldn't we strive always to give Him praise for His goodness
and faithfulness as if we owe Him our every breath- which we
do- and walk in holiness even if He doesn't return in this
generation? back to my first thought, i realize that as Christians,
we will be neither the party-savvy nor the slumber-paladins,
because we have not a man-made hope, but one that is God-given.
we will not be like those that indulge in the things of the world-
possessions, intoxication, sexual immorality, violence- those
will all pass away. nor will we be like those that are idle and
lazy, who do nothing with their gifts, ignore the needs of others,
seek their own comfort, and sleep on the job. instead, we will be
doing our work to expand God's kingdom not out of obligation,
but out of love for Christ and His people. and our hope is this:
when we are with our Lord in heaven, each day of eternity will
be a banquet filled with a joy to which no amount of parties on
earth could ever surmount to, because Christ will be the center.
and we will never tire of rejoicing His name, because He will
provide us with a rest so great that even all the hours spent sleeping
by every single living creature since the beginning of creation could
not match up to it. when i think of that, i can't wait for His return.
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i finished genesis the other day! now, onto exodus!
my sickness is probably like 90% gone! which means
i can almost safely shake people's hands. come on
anti-bodies! you can keep fighting! excited for retreat!
...i met a 19-year old elder yesterday. cool beans.