Some of you may have heard all the talk about today being the end of the world, some of you may not have. Actually, today wasn't predicted to be the end of the world, but rather the rapture. Supposedly 5 months from today the world will end... If you ask me it's all a big gimmick that has received its popularity almost solely by people who mock at any sort of rapture or end to this world. And it involves buying T-shirts so someone can get rich from this ridiculous scam.... You can read about it - and buy T-shirts from - here: http://judgementday2011.com/.
Now while I am really very cynical about this whole thing, it did arouse some interesting thoughts that had crossed my mind several times recently even before I heard about this. I keep reading from various places in the Bible about how we should be preparing for and anticipating Christ's Second Coming and living our lives as though the rapture were imminent. Then last week in English I had to write a paragraph about how I would live if I knew my life was going to end in exactly one year. What an interesting thought! I'd never spent much time seriously considering that before. But how important it is to live our lives to the fullest while we have the chance! We can never know when our time here will end, and if we go on living the way we are, will we have any regrets when our life suddenly and unexpectedly ends? Is there anything you know ought to do before you leave earth that you have been leaving until "later" or "when I'm more mature/prepared/ready"? I know there are many things I would regret not having done if the rapture had come today.
Another interesting aspect which crossed my mind is time management. I don't know of [m]any people who can honestly say they don't have a busy schedule. On the other hand, there are more people than I can possibly remember who have their weeks completely booked out and live in a state of constant productivity. Which is great, don't get me wrong. It's fantastic to see people work so hard to achieve their maximum potential, and I believe that all of one's time should be spent in a productive and beneficial activity. However I think that a lot of people just like myself have fallen into the trap of thinking, "I'm busy doing productive things. Therefore I am managing my time wisely and don't need to worry." We may be spending our time on good things, but are they the best things? I personally spend a lot of time on various music-related activities; all very productive and beneficial, I can tell you. But I find myself wondering if Jesus wouldn't be living quite differently in my place. I mean, surely I can't honestly believe that Jesus would spend hours practicing for an exam just to get a better mark when there is so much more a Christian can and should be doing. Please don't get me wrong - I do believe that music is God's gift to me and I intend to use it in whatever way possible for His service, but I think I have become too caught up with "getting ready to do God's work" and have actually forgotten that NOW is the time to do God's work. Does anybody else find that? You just keep telling yourself that what you're doing is okay because one day it will enable you to serve God better? But I think God wants us to enter His ministry TODAY. While it is, of course, important to plan ahead and prepare for the future, I need to be especially careful not to LIVE in the future and pass up present opportunities to achieve God's plans for me.
Having said that, another area in which I struggle is in actually just spending time alone with God. I tend to be a Martha, always rushing around doing things that I think will help, when really what I need to do is get to know God as a close friend and spend time with him. If the Second Coming were to come some time soon, I would be very regretful of how little time I have spent alone with Him as a friend.
I apologise if I have offended anyone with some of my controversial views. If you don't believe in the rapture/Second Coming, I'm sorry to have presented my beliefs so forcefully.
So now my challenge is to put all this rambling into practice. How would I live if this day was my last? If I only had one week left to live, what would I be doing?
Some food for thought, anyway...
Another interesting aspect which crossed my mind is time management. I don't know of [m]any people who can honestly say they don't have a busy schedule. On the other hand, there are more people than I can possibly remember who have their weeks completely booked out and live in a state of constant productivity. Which is great, don't get me wrong. It's fantastic to see people work so hard to achieve their maximum potential, and I believe that all of one's time should be spent in a productive and beneficial activity. However I think that a lot of people just like myself have fallen into the trap of thinking, "I'm busy doing productive things. Therefore I am managing my time wisely and don't need to worry." We may be spending our time on good things, but are they the best things? I personally spend a lot of time on various music-related activities; all very productive and beneficial, I can tell you. But I find myself wondering if Jesus wouldn't be living quite differently in my place. I mean, surely I can't honestly believe that Jesus would spend hours practicing for an exam just to get a better mark when there is so much more a Christian can and should be doing. Please don't get me wrong - I do believe that music is God's gift to me and I intend to use it in whatever way possible for His service, but I think I have become too caught up with "getting ready to do God's work" and have actually forgotten that NOW is the time to do God's work. Does anybody else find that? You just keep telling yourself that what you're doing is okay because one day it will enable you to serve God better? But I think God wants us to enter His ministry TODAY. While it is, of course, important to plan ahead and prepare for the future, I need to be especially careful not to LIVE in the future and pass up present opportunities to achieve God's plans for me.
Having said that, another area in which I struggle is in actually just spending time alone with God. I tend to be a Martha, always rushing around doing things that I think will help, when really what I need to do is get to know God as a close friend and spend time with him. If the Second Coming were to come some time soon, I would be very regretful of how little time I have spent alone with Him as a friend.
I apologise if I have offended anyone with some of my controversial views. If you don't believe in the rapture/Second Coming, I'm sorry to have presented my beliefs so forcefully.
So now my challenge is to put all this rambling into practice. How would I live if this day was my last? If I only had one week left to live, what would I be doing?
Some food for thought, anyway...
Mr. Caleb.
Weirdness! =P
Cate and Rach! =D
