Did you see it last night? The big fireball in the sky? I was driving home from Lord of Life shortly before 10pm and must have pulled into the garage just minutes before the flash in the sky was seen. I missed it, but when I came to Bible Study this morning and the men were talking about it. I didn’t know what they were talking about at first. Then they explained it to me.
I found it interesting how my morning devotion in the One Year Bible on this particular day took me to the end of Luke 17. In this chapter Jesus talks about the coming Kingdom of God. He says, “For the Son of Man in his day will be like lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.” I just happened to read this verse the morning after this event took place. Wow!
Considering the recent earthquake in Northern Illinois and now the flash in the sky at night, I do not consider these events to be coincidences. God often makes his presence know in what is called theophanies. These are revelations of God through abnormal occurrences in nature.
When we look throughout the world, some crazy things are happening. We have volcanic ash from Iceland shutting down airports in Europe. Earthquakes in China, Chile, Haiti, Indonesia, and many other places. It brings to mind the question, “Is Jesus coming back?”
The answer to that question is “yes!” Of course he is coming back. It might be today. It might not. It might be one year from now, 100 years from now, 1000 years from now or even longer. Jesus says, “No one knows the day or the hour.” (Mark 13:32) Certainly we can interpret the signs of the times. We know we are closer to his return now than we have ever been before. But ultimately our role is not to predict, but to simply be ready.
These signs provide us several opportunities and challenges.
1) They provide us the opportunity to know that God is God and that God is in his place. They serve as a reminder he is still there. There is absolutely no human explanation for the earthquake that took place in Northern Illinois. There is no known fault line in the area. At this point there doesn’t seem to be an complete explanation for the fireball in the sky. While there may be no known human explanation, we have a divine explanation. It was put there by God!
2) These signs challenge us to be ready and to be prepared. That earthquake happened in an instant. The flash in the sky happened in an instant. There was no time to prepare. So it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. These are reminders, no matter where we are in life, to be right with God. None of us know our day or hour. If we continue to keep Jesus at arms length we may find it too late and ourselves on the outside looking in.
3) It reminds us of the urgency of the mission. God created you for such a time as this. Life is short. We only have so many opportunities. Last year about this time, we challenged everyone at Lord of Life to take the One Month to Live Challenge. A year as now passed since that challenge. You are still here. But that doesn’t undermine the message. What would you do differently if you had only one month to live? Some of the things that seem important to you now would not be all that important anymore. These signs are a reminder to continue to live with that same urgency and purpose. It might mean hugging your child a little tighter and a little bit longer, because you don’t know how many more of those opportunities you will have. It might mean going on that mission trip you have been putting off for all sorts of different reasons (excuses). It might mean just simply walking across the room to share your faith with a co-worker or friend.
4) Finally, it reminds us that life is fragile. There is nothing permanent on or about his earth. Everything we see will one day come to an end. But there is one thing that remains and that is Jesus Christ. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He has given you something that you can hold on to and that is the cross. These signs remind us that earth is not our home. We are just sojourners here. Heaven is our home and it was what we were created for.
Hope you have a great week. This weekend I will will be sharing my message from John 21:1-14 and will be talking about overcoming frustration. In that story we have some frustrated fishermen, but Jesus helps them overcome that frustration. If you are frustrated or know of someone who is frustrated, the place to be is at Lord of Life on Sunday at 8:30 or 10am. Hope to see you there.
