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"Just When You Want To Run For Cover . . ."
Luke 21:25-36
Being a Christian is not the easiest, most natural thing in the world
Today’s scripture is certainly one that proves that
Christians are called to act completely counter to normal human instinct
Jesus says, when the end of the world is upon you
When all the signs point to a complete crash of the system
When even whole nations are distressed and
When even the sound of the sea adds to the confusion
When everyone around you is fainting from fear and foreboding
Because the powers of the heavens have been shaken!
When everyone else is down and out,
lift up your head and shout
it’s gonna be a great day!
When the end of the world is near
When the scientists say that they have finally spotted the asteroid with our name on it and it’s on a collision course with earth
When one or more of the crazies have planted atomic "devices" in truly inconvenient places
When the stock market has really crashed flat and the banks have all failed
When air and water have become so contaminated that there is nothing left to drink or breath
When the icecaps have melted, the New Madrid has shifted, the volcanoes have all erupted, and the tidal wave is wiping out every thing south of Saint Louis
Praise God,
avoid the bomb shelters,
quit cowering under your bed,
put down the gun (or however you thought of ending it all)
and Stand up!
Because your redemption is drawing near
Folks that is NOT natural
I don’t know about you, but I have trouble facing just the little disasters of life
For instance,
After going through so many secretaries in just a couple of years’ time
We finally find a really good one
And her heart starts to act up
And while I’m spending a week (just one week, mind you)
doing her job and mine, too
and doing both badly
I’m not sure that even once I said "O joy! Here comes the Lord"
If my plans for the weekend get cancelled, I whine and complain
I know I wouldn’t naturally react to the end of the world
By raising my head and looking for my redemption to be drawing near
For instance,
suppose you had just spent 10 months nursing your mother back to health
Sitting up at the hospital
Encouraging her through rehab
Moving her into a new home
Moving her to a new floor when she made progress
Providing her with support both practical and emotional
And then she falls and breaks her other hip!
Human nature being what it is, this would be a good time to
Throw up your hands and shout
Hardly seems like the time to lift up your head and look to the heavens with glad expectation . . .
Hardly seems like the time to say "Great!
Another chance to lean on God!"
But that’s what time it is,
and because we are Christians,
we know it
Whether the world is coming to an end or we’re just facing a change of course we didn’t have planned, it’s true that our adversity is God’s opportunity
Paul said, that God spoke to him and promised that His grace would be sufficient, for God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.
Paul said, that he would boast all the more gladly of his weaknesses,
That he was content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ;
Because whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
Of course, Paul never was what you’d call normal
Not after he was struck by lightning (or whatever it was) on the road to Damascus
When he fell off that donkey, he must have fallen on his head
Because from then on he was a little "touched" don’t you know?
Touched by the power of God
He was no longer normal,
He was a Christian.
And so are we
So when life throws us a curve, we welcome it
Maybe not as a first reaction
Even Paul started out by praying that God would just remove the thorn in his side,
But before too long we go from down and out to lifting up our heads
Whenever you’re down and out, lift up your head and shout
This is the Day of the Lord
My redemption is drawing near
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