Pastor’s Corner “How to Live in the Last Days”

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew 24:6-7)-Jesus, answering a question about the timing of the end of the age.

I did not hear about the United States’ bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites until I returned home from church on Sunday. I quickly better understood the snippets of conversation I had heard in the hallway after the services, as well as why a few others had talked to me about online videos they had watched linking recent events to biblical prophecy. In those conversations and in my own heart I felt the rise of anxiety. Are we in the last days? How are we to respond to these events?

Jesus answers both of these questions. Yes, we are in the last days (Matthew 24:6-7; Mark 13:7-8). “Everything from the empty tomb onward are the last days (Hebrews 1:1),” writes Russell Moore. “The time between his ascension and his second advent, Jesus said, would be rumbling with birth pains, but none of us have a sonogram to tell us when or where.” Be slow to connect specific current events with biblical prophecies, or to believe those who do. Christians have been doing so for two millennia, and they have yet to get it right. And Jesus even warns against trying too hard to figure it out (see Mark 13:21-23, 32).

At the same time, Jesus does tell us to let such events be a wake-up call: “You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore, stay awake!” (Mark 13:32-37).

In Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus tells several parables to teach us what “staying awake” looks like. I’m struck by the fact that his concluding parable is the famous “Sheep and the Goats” story. The ones blessed by the Father are those who, in the last days, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit those sick and in prison. “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:31-40). In other words, love your neighbor.

Here's one way I put this into practice later that Sunday afternoon. I texted one of my neighbors who is an Iranian immigrant: “You’ve been on my mind with all that’s happened with Iran. How are you and your family?” That opened the door for him to share his heart with me, and then he asked me to pray for him, his family, and Iran. In loving him in this way, I was also loving Jesus.

Who is Jesus inviting you to love in these last days? Is there a neighbor, a co-worker, a friend, an acquaintance– especially those of other cultures – who also may be afraid and who would appreciate a listening ear? Many of you may know people involved in the military and government, for whom these are challenging times. Is the Spirit nudging you to check in on them?

When you do, I think you’ll notice what I noticed after my interaction with my neighbor – my anxiety lessened, because I turned my attention from fear toward “the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” the very thing Jesus said would be the antidote to anxiety (Matthew 6:25-34).

And, of course, as my non-Christian Iranian friend reminded me, we are to pray. “The Lord is near,” writes the apostle Paul to the church in Philippi. “Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life” (Philippians 4:5-7, The Message).

Your Pastor in Christ,