so is there a line or something?
As I'm sure you may have heard, the world is ending tomorrow; and I'm positive that you wanna know my deepest feelings about it. Well here it goes: I don't care about eschatology (the study of the end of the world).
Growing up, I was almost too aware of the end times, I was quite frightened of what all was going to go down. I heard/read/learned snippets of what the Bible says about the end times and people's interpretations; and, as most children do, I took the scraps I had learned and fabricated what it all would look and be like for me. Unfortunately what I heard/read/learned wasn't very delightful sounding so my imagination expounded upon that and I essentially ended up with a plot-less horror movie in my head. A lot of the scenes I pictured were directly drawn from infamous Left Behind books and movies. My mom was really into them and she tried to get me into the children's versions but I was at the everything-she-wanted-from-me-was-super-lame-because-she-doesn't-understand-that-I'm-my-own-person age, so I didn't read them (and plus they were super confusing and boring to me).
Something that's always stuck with me, even to this day, are the scenes of confusion and darkness from the Left Behind material. That is what scared me the most. I didn't understand the order of events and it seemed the characters in the movies/books didn't either. I was scared of getting left behind when Jesus came back, not because I wasn't a Christian, but because I missed the memo, got lost, slept in, stood in the wrong line, was taking a shower (for a glimpse of time, I was scared the rapture would happen while I was in the shower and everyone would see me naked), couldn't get out of class, couldn't find a ride (can't ride with strangers even if the world is ending), any number of reasons. I would always wonder "so is there a line or something?". I had heard that God would judge us one by one, that we would each have to stand before Him and answer for our lives, and I just figured the most efficient way was for us to form a single file line. But what if I was just standing in the wrong line, what if I was instead standing in line to get 666 on my forehead and didn't know it?! I would get myself all in a tizzy freaking out about the world ending and then I would get upset because I was gonna miss hot dogs and ice cream in Heaven (I remember having this conversation with my Momma). I really pondered on these things. I mean, I wanted to get it right, there are no second chances!
Last Summer I had to do this online doctrine study in preparation to STINT with Campus Crusade for Christ, it was just basic 'this is what Christians believe' type stuff. One of the units was on eschatology. Campus Crusade for Christ isn't affiliated with any particular denomination, therefore it doesn't attach itself to anything but the Gospel and Bible; everything else they don't really take a stance on. For the eschatology unit, they shared many different theories on it. It was very enlightening as I had never read/learned anything so clear and objective about the different theories, terms, and order of events for the return of Jesus and things surrounding it. Now, admittedly, it was a crash course in the basic, but it was just thorough enough to help me realize this: ultimately, Jesus is coming back for His Bride, His Church, we just don't know how it's all going to go down.
I am now not afraid of being in the wrong line or in the shower when Jesus returns, whether tomorrow (which I highly doubt) or outside my lifetime. I take great comfort in know that He is returning for His Bride, for me, and I don't care how He goes about doing it.
Growing up, I was almost too aware of the end times, I was quite frightened of what all was going to go down. I heard/read/learned snippets of what the Bible says about the end times and people's interpretations; and, as most children do, I took the scraps I had learned and fabricated what it all would look and be like for me. Unfortunately what I heard/read/learned wasn't very delightful sounding so my imagination expounded upon that and I essentially ended up with a plot-less horror movie in my head. A lot of the scenes I pictured were directly drawn from infamous Left Behind books and movies. My mom was really into them and she tried to get me into the children's versions but I was at the everything-she-wanted-from-me-was-super-lame-because-she-doesn't-understand-that-I'm-my-own-person age, so I didn't read them (and plus they were super confusing and boring to me).
Something that's always stuck with me, even to this day, are the scenes of confusion and darkness from the Left Behind material. That is what scared me the most. I didn't understand the order of events and it seemed the characters in the movies/books didn't either. I was scared of getting left behind when Jesus came back, not because I wasn't a Christian, but because I missed the memo, got lost, slept in, stood in the wrong line, was taking a shower (for a glimpse of time, I was scared the rapture would happen while I was in the shower and everyone would see me naked), couldn't get out of class, couldn't find a ride (can't ride with strangers even if the world is ending), any number of reasons. I would always wonder "so is there a line or something?". I had heard that God would judge us one by one, that we would each have to stand before Him and answer for our lives, and I just figured the most efficient way was for us to form a single file line. But what if I was just standing in the wrong line, what if I was instead standing in line to get 666 on my forehead and didn't know it?! I would get myself all in a tizzy freaking out about the world ending and then I would get upset because I was gonna miss hot dogs and ice cream in Heaven (I remember having this conversation with my Momma). I really pondered on these things. I mean, I wanted to get it right, there are no second chances!
Last Summer I had to do this online doctrine study in preparation to STINT with Campus Crusade for Christ, it was just basic 'this is what Christians believe' type stuff. One of the units was on eschatology. Campus Crusade for Christ isn't affiliated with any particular denomination, therefore it doesn't attach itself to anything but the Gospel and Bible; everything else they don't really take a stance on. For the eschatology unit, they shared many different theories on it. It was very enlightening as I had never read/learned anything so clear and objective about the different theories, terms, and order of events for the return of Jesus and things surrounding it. Now, admittedly, it was a crash course in the basic, but it was just thorough enough to help me realize this: ultimately, Jesus is coming back for His Bride, His Church, we just don't know how it's all going to go down.
I am now not afraid of being in the wrong line or in the shower when Jesus returns, whether tomorrow (which I highly doubt) or outside my lifetime. I take great comfort in know that He is returning for His Bride, for me, and I don't care how He goes about doing it.
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