Does anyone remember
Chicken Little? I typed Chicken Little into Google and got over 106 million
hits… Let’s just say that there are a few variations of the story. Seems that a
baby chicken (Chicken Little) convinced a duck and a hen, (in the version I
read, it was Ducky Lucky and Henny Penny), that the sky was falling they needed to
go tell the Lion. They met a fox, (Foxey Loxey), who tricked them into her den,
and they never came out again.
Moral to the story? Seems
like overreacting could be bad, and to not believe everything you hear. We
pretty much all would agree with this idea of patience to reacting and
investigating the truth of others statements, right? So why all the hype when
another “end of the world” claim is made?
I think it comes down to
fear. The fear of the unknown incites great emotion. So much so, we seem to go
to great ends to remove it. No one has ever consistently predicted the future.
But when an “end of the world” prediction comes along, it seems like everyone needs to respond. Some respond in extreme ways, and some not at all. We all hear the
claims, but why are some taken more seriously than others? I believe the source
of the claim matters, and when a new or somewhat strange one comes up, we seem
to be all ears.
But what is the source of
this recent claim? Has this source made other claims that have come true? Have
all the previous claims by this source been 100% accurate? These are good
questions to consider when we look to how we should respond to such claims,
right?
Some sources have made predictions
that have come true, but no one has ever had every prediction they made come
true…no one, except one: God. God gave His Word to us, which contains prophecy,
and every prophecy in God’s Word has come true so far. And everything else in
the Bible is the same. The Bible has never been proven inaccurate or wrong in
any of its historical accounts or predictions of the future. Now to me, that
sounds like a credible source.
So instead of worrying if
the end is near, why not look to the manger as a reminder of a beginning, and
the answer to the question about what we can, could, or would do about the
future – nothing. Tomorrow is coming, and no matter what we do it will come.
Christmas is a reminder of someone who can guide us to the future…the “Babe”,
“The Messiah”, “The Christ”; who grew up and taught us about such things.
Jesus said the most important matter was to keep watch and be
prepared, ending his “little apocalypse” teaching in Matthew 24 with the
parable of the 10 virgins, the parable of the talents and the parable of the
sheep and the goats (Matt. 25).
And as for hope, the Psalmist writes: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall
into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains
quake with their surging” (Psalm 46:1-4, NIV).
The real question then should not be whether or not the end will
happen, but whether or not it will be met with faith in the living God. As the
late Chuck Colson wrote, “Christians know that God is working out His purposes
in history, and that faith removes all anxieties.”
Crazy things happen in this crazy world, and people do crazy
things for all kinds of crazy reasons. Maybe someone will do something crazy
tomorrow, and use the “end of the world’ as his or her excuse for doing it.
Plan accordingly so that you feel some sense of safety, but as for me, I am planning for another day in God's hands.
…just prayin’
In His Grip,
Pastor Pat
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