There has been so much buzz in recent years concerning what many believe will be with the ending of the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012. As people gear up to face the apocalypse, there have been at least 2 reactions: fear and/or determination.
Fear: Faced with their impending death, many begin to fear what's beyond the grave. There's the burning question: is this all there is or what should I expect when I die? People are naturally fearful of the unknown and even more so when that unknown is death.
Determination: Faced with their impending death, many realize that there is so much they hoped to do and accomplish before they died. They wanted to skydive, get married, move out of their parents' basement or just make something of themselves. Some people just naturally work better with a deadline (no pun intended). December 21, 2012 provided that deadline.
As for me, I liked the idea of people thinking that the world was going to end in 2012 (even if I don't believe). For one, fearful people were turning to Jesus for answers concerning life after death. When people seriously question the supernatural, Jesus and the Bible begin to make sense. The frailty of humanity becomes apparent and people begin to see their need for a savior. Jesus is the only third party savior in any religion; everyone else is left to save themselves. Secondly, thinking that the time was running short, Christians were more determined to share their faith with a friend or neighbor. You can't believe the Bible and also believe that everyone will end up in heaven; the Bible talks way too much about "H" "E" double hockey sticks. Christians can't help but recognize that all those who die apart from Christ have no pearly gates of which to look forward. And, naturally, it should be hard for Christians to so willingly allow their loved ones to perish without hearing the gospel. 2012 provided us with this extra motivation.
But now things have been messed up. A recent book "Calendars and Years II: Astronomy and Time in the Ancient and Medieval World" (Oxbow Books, 2010) argues that early conversions of the Mayan calendar (which have been accepted without question for so long) may actually be as many as 50 to 100 years off in either direction. Sadly, the Mayan apocalypse may have already happened with the entire world being, "Left Behind." In actuality, we're back to square one not knowing at all when the end will come. But wait...didn't Jesus say that would be the case anyway? Jesus told His disciples, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority" (Act 1:7 NASB). Then He went into a rant about the disciples receiving power and being witnesses around the world. Interesting...
Ok....fear and determination are good, but the fact that we don't know should make us even more fearful and determined. If I know I'm going to die tomorrow, yes, it will motivate me a little, but if I don't know I'm going to die tomorrow that should make me even more motivated by the very fact that it may happen or it may not. It's that fear of the unknown kicking in. Honestly, each of us should live every day as though it's December 20, 2012. Fear of death should point us toward Jesus and knowing the end could come at any moment should make us all the more determined that none should go down without hearing the gospel.
I like a good deadline because it allows me to pace myself or even procrastinate until the last minute and then work overtime to get it done. But Jesus doesn't want us to wait until the last minute. He wants us to face each day with a faithful attitude that today may be our last and we'll give an account for how we lived each day. There will be no excuses accepted containing the words, "I didn't know!" or "I thought I had more time!" You were warned. So live each day with fear and determination. You never know when tomorrow won't come.
No comments:
Post a Comment