I woke up thinking about how our view of the end of the world, and the last days, affects our daily lives. Dad & I started out the week having an intense, yet lively discussion about the effects of your view on the end times on your attitude and daily life.
For me, I felt that we had lived under one set of beliefs and expectations, and had switched to another, and that we needed to verbalize what had happened and how the shift had come about.
We came to faith in Christ in the 70's, as part of the Jesus Movement, a movement that many members of that generation of adults felt was an answer to the desperate prayers of mothers and fathers for God to save their children from the infiltration of drugs and immorality. A large part of the movement was the urgent imminence of the tribulation and the Rapture, an allegiance to the Pre-Tribulation Rapture and the literal Millennium school of belief.
That urgency was fed by the hostility of the government and the takeover of the culture by anti-Christian movements, and most notably by the wholesale slaughter of infants in the womb. The end effect was of mistrust of the government and a fortress type stance of the church.
Forward to the 21st century and the megachurches. We relocated because of employment and transferred to a megachurch in its initial stages. The end times view here was not so focused, and instead was on taking authority in your oikos, sphere of influence. The basis of this view was that Jesus had bound Satan and had the keys to hell and death, so we had open doors and could spread the kingdom. The outcome of that was a confidence and initiative that was empowering, as well as worship that was glorious. Along with the good effects, I witnessed a lack of kindness and love that was heart-rending. It seemed that the focus that we had had on the suffering church and fasting and intercession was at odds with the new focus on taking authority in a geographical area. It seemed to parallel the contrast between the survivors of the great persecution in Germany and the post-WWII consumer-driven generation. There was an appreciation and familiarity of suffering and the cost of spiritual and political freedom that was absent in the younger generation. And in that generation and in particular the church, there seemed to be a generation that was ready to take positions of authority by whatever means was presented or available but that had not much appreciation for humility nor kindness.
It has seemed very important to me to chronicle this, so that our children will understand the paradigm shifts that we have lived through. The focus of our Christian life early in our marriage was worship, serving other Christians, supporting world missions, and being an advocate for the least of these, those who had no one to speak for them. In our children's teen years, we saw a change to focus on taking ground for the Kingdom through worship& prayer. The focus was on reaching numbers, and being "relevant to the culture". This meant spending time and resources in activities that society values currently, ie: fitness, consumerism, music, entertainment...
Although I rejoice at the success in drawing many people and fishing and catching men, I have struggled with the focus on following a leader, an individual, as they guide us through this endeavor. I have desired more to be taking my play notes from the Bible itself. I realize that the revelations from the Word of God have to come through a man or woman; The truths are spoken and predicated-preached. But it has been troubling to see opinion formed by the winsomeness of an individual's appearance and lifestyle.
Yet as I think about it, if our appearance and choice of activities can win people to the Lord, then I would manage those in such a way as to win persons to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. I think that the expressed attitude of depreciation by the Kingdom Movement adherents, for those who focus on the Tribulation and Rapture was a big problem for me, and still is. Perhaps the Kingdom people had encountered the difficult opposition of Pre-tribulation adherents, and the emphatic emphasis on the coming holocaust-catastrophe.
There is a difference between anticipating destruction and anticipating prosperity.
The view of occupying till I come is important to me. I like to utilize our prosperity to aid missions and those in need, and to focus on the Lord's power and His dominion is more liberating and profitable than to focus on destruction.
I think that a very desirable position is that people are reachable and that we need tools and training to be a light in our jobs and in our lives; That we Can and Will see people respond to the news that Eternal Life is a free gift, that we could never earn it nor deserve it.
I believe that tenderness and love are the highest values in the Kingdom of Love, because it says that God so Loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes on Him would not perish but have everlasting life. His calling card, His permission to reach us, His identity, was that He suffered loss to demonstrated love and goodwill for us. He established that His overriding intent was to be friends with us and to enjoy us. He was not intending to use us, exploit us, or steal from us. He identified Himself as altruistic and good. I am grateful that He re-established His authority in the earth, but it was by love, for love, and in love. We must evince the same mindset as we move in authority.
I love our children the most of all my earthly treasures. I hope that this is helpful.
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