Tuesday, May 17, 2011

So if the world ends Saturday should I buy my wife a birthday present?

So have you heard the world is ending this Saturday? No, not because my wife's birthday is Saturday, but because the Bible predicts it! Okay, so somebody has put out there that they believe May 21st, 2011 will be the day of the rapture and judgment day based on Scripture prophecy. However, the Bible is pretty clear that not even Jesus knew when that would occur making it arrogance upon arrogance for one person to think he or she can figure it out.
Chances are if you're reading this you've lived through others such predictions by others who have claimed to have figured out when Jesus is returning. Such audacious claims stem from a faulty perspective on reading Scripture. The guy who made the prediction said that the Bible is written in code. So rather than seeing Scripture as the story of God's interaction and incarnation among His people, empowering them for a new way of life, Scripture becomes a code to be deciphered as if it's true value lie hidden for only specialist to figure out. Predicting dates is nothing new and has failed each of the many times it has been tried. So my contention is that instead of putting all that effort into trying to figure out a code Scripture is inviting us to an eternal relationship living out the mission of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit both now and for all eternity. Imagine if Christians spent more time, effort, and energy on living God's mission daily what the world would look like and think about Christians and the God we serve! My guess is that living out Scripture on a daily basis is more difficult than trying to decode the Bible (were that possible!). 
However, I will say this about all the end of times doom and gloom bad prophecy predictions - it does remind us Jesus commanded us to be alert and that it would happen when we least expect. Are we living alert to what God is up to around us or so caught in our routine we forget to be on alert?
Scripture - Matthew 24:36
Questions:
How do you categorize Scripture? Love letter to the church? Codes to be interpreted? A Story God is inviting us to? History? Science?
What does it look like to live a life empowered by God alert to His presence? How would the church's image change if what was reported was not bad, doom and gloom prophecy, but people who served God and neighbors with their hearts, minds, soul, and strength?

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