3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many will fall away[a] and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
(Matthew 24:3-14 ESV)
I was reading this passage this morning in regards to the news about Syria and feeling sad at how this world is headed downhill. Yesterday I was in work and a child was screaming in his trolley and a woman walked past and said to me 'Oh god shuttup! I would have had him aborted, even at this age' I was furious at her but held my tongue. An elderly lady- I imagined her to have more compassion on a mother struggling to quiet her children but she was full of bitterness as she said those unkind words. It disgusted me that someone basically just said 'I wish that child was dead' without a thought. We have retermed a 'foetus' of which the latin means 'offspring' or 'to bring forth' in order to mean 'not quite human enough to keep alive'. I usually stay out of abortion debates but this woman shocked me and I felt so angry. Especially that she said 'even at this age', which I assume may even shock some of you who don't have an opinion about abortion. The backhand view of 'terminating' a 'pregnancy' (not 'killing' a 'baby') is becoming so normal now and it's such a sadness to humanity; what are we doing?
We have become so blinded, we live in a land of catastrophe and darkness but, like the Matrix, all we see is light and life. Morality and faith are fading, we live as dying creautres oblivious to our fate.
I wasn't actually planning on writing all of that but it's something I feel is worth mentioning and fighting for! The mass opinion does not make it the right opinion. Why do you beleive what you beleive? Is it just because other people are telling you to? This is what I asked myself as a Christian and I realised that actually there are some things I disagree with within the 'christian' culture. However, I beleive that every word of the bible is true and right and I will not disagree with anything from the word of God. But you must ask yourself, why do I beleive this? Whether Atheist, Christian, Muslim or whatever.
Back to Syria, it is so sad to here the stories about the innocent being brutally destroyed and we are wondering how we can help. I do not know what the right thing to do is, but we must do something! I know many people are praying for this disaster and I know my God will listen. But wars and rumours of wars must happen. It is the birthpains in the delivery of the end of the world. As are famines and earthquakes, and we have seen many of these. The end may be quite far away and it may not be too far away but the next line intrigues me. Jesus lovers will be persecuted by the world and many nations will hate us. I can see this happening already as well. Some in bright daylight, such as some Arabic countries where it is illegal to preach the gospel and sometimes even to believe Jesus is God. But even in this country I see a hate spreading. It sneaks through our media and sometimes even through the government and education system. Sometimes I do not voice my opinion because I am laughed at and told that 'scientists' have 'proved' me wrong. However, I see a danger in staying silent. God calls his people to have a voice- His voice. We are to be great lovers of Jesus, we are called to love what He loves. God loves people. All people. That is what is so radical about being Christ followers- We love the unloved. Tribulation will increase and Christians need to be prepared to stand up and fight for justice even when it means suffering and even death.
God has given us everything we need for life and Godliness so let's go into the world and be lights for those around us. We should love everyone so much that it is impossible not to tell them about Jesus! I challenge you to love radically today; love the people you are struggling to love. Hate cannot stand in the face of love. God is love, let us follow in his example!
