Monday, May 23, 2011

Not the End . . . Not Yet

As you probably noticed, the world did not end on Saturday at 6 p.m. as predicted. (There was some debate over whether it would be Eastern or Pacific time, but no matter.) So by popular demand – or maybe not – we’re still here.

This means we’ll have to endure another interminable Presidential race in 2012, along with the customary option of choosing the lesser of two evils. (If two Southerners were to contest the race, we could select the lesser of two weevils.)

Because the world did not end, we’ll have to endure more of Lady Gaga, Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan. The national media will continue its quest to establish Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel as the biggest criminal since the Boston Strangler. (Actually, Tressel’s biggest error was probably writing books about values and virtue, and then proving himself human – and a sinner – by failing to fully live up to them.)

“American Idol” and “Dancing With the Stars” will rewind and trot out another assortment of hopefuls, aspiring divas, over-the-hill celebrities and wannabes, along with myriad reality shows that are totally out of touch with real reality.

Baseball will continue its crawl through the summer, making snails look like speed freaks. Fox News will continue its arch-conservative bombast, while other cable news networks will continue holding up the liberal side, perhaps with a bit more subtlety, but biased just the same.

Because the world did not end, we will continue to hear of wars, rumors of war, along with reports of natural and manmade disasters. We will continue to espouse tolerance, unless you’re talking about followers of Jesus Christ, in which case it’s okay not to be tolerant.

At this point, no one knows what happened to Harold Camping, the California preacher who prognosticated the world’s end. Perhaps he took his name literally…and went camping. All I know is he’s another silly reason for nonbelievers to justify their disbelief by pointing to crazy Christians and “fundamentalists.”

I have no doubt that one day the world – as we know it – will end. We just don’t know when. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus said, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” So we can’t put a date on our calendar and plan accordingly.

But the Lord did affirm there shall be an end, a great global denouement. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come…. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:42-44).

The question we each must ask ourselves: “Will I be ready?”

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