There will be signs……
There is some pretty alarming stuff in Luke chapter 21. He texts about how the temple will be destroyed. He warns of signs of war, earthquakes, famines, plagues and betrayals. In Luke 21: 4-6 MSG reads, “It will seem like all hell has broken lose---sun, moon, stars, earth, sea, in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers-that-be-quaking.”
This is scary stuff!! We look at our world today and the unknown of the future and wonder…. What are the signs that Jesus refers to in Luke 21?? Are they happening right now??
---Could it be a sign when there was the horrific shooting of 17 high school students in Florida who simple got up and went to school on February 14th---and there are far too many incidents like this…..“There will be signs”. Jesus said.
---Could it be what we read in the headlines and feeling like our prayers are unable to keep up with the pain and the needs of the world. “There will be signs,” Jesus said.
---Could the sign be waking up in a world each morning and wondering, “What’s next? Where will it happen? When will it take place?” “There will be signs”. Jesus said.
It might be any one of these….or thousands of stories like these. Every one of us could tell stories of the day our world came crashing down around us.
Could it be that “there will be signs” are words of hope and assurance not words of warning and doom? Jesus does not ask us to predict the future. He is saying that we should always be ready! Ready to stand up, raise our heads and know that help is on the way, our redemption, our healing, our savior has drawn near.
Luke 21 verses 24-26 says that the Lord will be a drop-in visitor. He promises to drop in unexpectedly. He will not call ahead. So here is the question and my challenge to us all, “Is my house in order?” He will not accept excuses. He has warned us in advance that we should be prepared. My takeaway is this, that I must focus on obedience to God and faithfulness, and let God handle the end of the world.
I believe that these signs are not a reason to hang our heads in despair or shrink from life. The signs in our lives and the world mean that the circumstances we face contain and reveal the promise of Christ’s coming. The signs are our hope and reassurance that God has not abandoned us, that God notices us, that God cares, comes to, and participates in life’s circumstances.
Yes, our lives can be difficult and painful. But we never face those seasons without the signs of hope and reassurance, signs that point to the one who is coming. The question remains….is my house in order?