Here Comes The Judge

By Dr. Greg Wiens

Why are some people always talking about Jesus’ imminent return? I believe uncertainty and rapid change causes many people to simply want to check out. I have had a number of people ask me recently if I believe the Lord is coming back very soon (within two years). Each of these well meaning people has a series of major events (or speakers), which have caused them alarm. The world is changing quickly around them and (in their minds) all of these events point to Christ’s return.

It seems this last happened around ten years ago when there was great anticipation, confusion and change associated with Y2K. I actually know of a pastor who left his church, bought a cabin in the mountains and waited…he is now back looking for a church to pastor.

One of the things I love about our movement is that we are not stargazers wondering when Christ will come back. Our fault more recently has been we are naval gazers who are only looking within and not outside of our movement. Either perspective causes us to lose sight of Christ’s mission to his creation. Stargazing leaves us with calculations, conversations and expectations that alienate us from those whom God loves but don’t love him. I believe that is why Jesus continually states, don’t worry about the details. Naval gazing, on the other hand causes us to only look at ourselves and take the focus off of those around us. We worry about our purity or polity and not about those spending eternity without God.

Christ’s words are very clear in that we won’t know when he is coming, but we will know when he comes. He says in Luke 12 “⁴⁰You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." He continued throughout his ministry to tell his followers to prepare for his return and to be watchful.

Jesus tells to be ready by doing God’s work here on earth. In the first chapter of Acts we read these verses: “⁶So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" ⁷He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."”

Jesus is getting ready to go back to the Father and his followers are so excited about end times stuff, but he says clearly don’t worry about that stuff, be my witnesses to those who need to hear it. Therefore we should get serious about his work, if we do expect him to come back soon. Again, he may delay for another thousand years, but we must have a sense of urgency about our lives and ministry.

Because everything around is changing so fast, it is easy to think it cannot get any worse. We struggle to appreciate the quantum leap in information that we are witnessing during our lifetimes. So rather than trying to adjust to our culture, we find it easier to simply think Christ is going to come back and we will check out. Therefore, we won’t have to worry about keeping current.

I understand that the world is changing so rapidly that it is disconcerting. It is difficult to “play the game” when the rules change every ten years or so. Things we learned twenty years ago, no longer are appropriate or helpful in reaching people around us. Churches that were healthy and vibrant thirty years ago are now closing. Leaders today are expected to be totally different in gifts and experience than forty years ago. It is a challenge to keep current when everything as we know it keeps changing.

Change is happening at an alarming rate (Easum’s article in August 9^th). Our response cannot be to withdraw or become rigid (I wrote on August 16^th), blame it on Satan (August 24^th), or try to escape (this week); our response must be one of engagement. We must engage the world as it rapidly changes. To do so, means that we too must keep current with those changes and do as Jesus says: get those who are willing to listen ready for his coming.

It seems to me that this is the only way we will reach the world for him (HIS call to us) and not become relegated to an irrelevant corner. For me, this means reading magazines, books, and newspapers to stay current. It means being able to dialogue with lost people about the things that really matter to them. It means listening to their concerns and then reflecting, praying and studying how the gospel relates to their issues. It is so much more than memorizing a few laws and a prayer, it is investing in the lives of lost people in a way that let’s them know God thinks they are valuable and worth dying for.

In my next article we will look at leading through changing times and expectations.