Life is a Vapor

With the recent U.S. air strikes in Syria, I can't help but think, what does it all mean? I don’t care about the politics of it; if you do, good for you. As I've stated before, I'm a Christian so I view world events through that prism, and in Christianity, there is a belief of an end-of-world scenario. Damascus, Syria is very much a part of that scenario. But that view isn’t unique to Christianity. Jewish and Islamic Religions (Abraham’s other descendants and their cultures) believe in a similar end-of-the-world scenario, but there are others as well. Mayan culture predicted an end, Hindu culture predicts a more cyclical end and new beginning, Norse mythology had similar beliefs, and even modern science offers various hypotheses of an end of the earth as we know it.

Point being, regardless of what you believe, air strikes that take place in the Middle East with countries the size of the United States and Russia involved should get your attention.

So, my reaction to our current events is to turn to my Bible. As I did, what did I find? In the Old Testament book of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 17, there's a prophecy regarding the destruction of the city of Damascus (the capital of Syria). In the Old Testament book of the prophet Ezekiel, it talks of a Gog of Magog war, where the Gog of the north, Russia, gets a hook in its jaw and is drawn to a war. I look at the time since 1947 when Israel was formed in a day or in 1967 when Israel won a war against all of its surrounding enemies in a matter of days. This is straight out of Ezekiel 37 and 38.

When I searched online, I found that many are looking to the skies and predicting that fulfillment of Revelation 12 (The Woman and the Dragon) will take place on September 23, 2017. Astronomers are confirming that there are constellation alignments that haven’t been since the time of Adam and Eve. If you haven't seen this, please look up videos of these things on YouTube. And then I found video about a series of 12 Biblical scholars from the 1730s through the 1880s (tribulation-now.org) who believed and showed evidence pointing to a time around 2016 as the time of Armageddon.

And to non-believers, think of it this way... Donald Trump holds the office of Commander in Chief in the United States of America!?!?! Who'd have ever thought that? Global warming is on the lips of every scientist in the world. And regardless of the religious tone of the strikes in Syria, a nuclear war could wipe humanity off the face of the earth. Even Leonardo Di Caprio felt strongly enough about the state of our planet that he made a film imploring us to take care of it before it's too late. And on and on and on...

And as interestingly terrifying as all of that sounds, that's not what I want to talk about. Wait, what? But I've just spent all of that time... Exactly! Setting the stage for what I'll say next.

Regardless of where your beliefs are, there is an unrest in our world that is unprecedented historically. World War III could start tomorrow and no one would be surprised. So, I ask, what are we doing? I mean really... survey your life and ask yourself, what am I doing?

Are you planning? Are you growing? Are you enjoying it? Are you learning? Are you desperate to reconcile with loved ones, or better yourself, or join a cause? What are you doing every day? Is it important? And then, as I write this, I look in the mirror and ask, "Nate, what are you doing?"

This blog is small, for now. But it's my place to have a voice. It’s a part of what I'm doing. And, for the second post in a row, I'm going to turn my writing over to ask my fellow Christians a simple question: if these are the last days of life as we know it, what is truly important?

So ready or not, here we go.

What is "the church?" The Bible describes it as the body and the bride of Christ. Jesus called Peter the Rock, and used him to help establish his church. That church is to be the love of Jesus's life (his bride) and his grand masterpiece! It is an interconnected community of believers in the life and death of the Son of God! But I look around and think of my experience in churches and I don't remember masterpieces. What I remember is as follows:

1. More denominations than I can count. Mostly bad-mouthing each other and competing for members.

2. People who waste time majoring in minors (carpet colors, dress codes, work days, hurt feelings, etc.)

3. Very little collective interest in loving and modeling Christ to a brokenhearted, hurting world.

4. Extremely poor training. (Seriously, school teachers are required to have Master's Degrees in Kentucky, but most ministers aren't required to have a Bachelor's degree. Many more haven't even read the entire Bible.)

Side note – I’m very fortunate to have a father with multiple degrees in science, education, and theology and who has been ordained by multiple denominations. I was also fortunate enough to have an excellent grounding in the Bible through my Catholic schooling. Most church attendees are not so fortunate.

5. Always asking volunteers to do work rather than paying money for quality and contributing to the economy.

6. Constantly arguing over politics (national and religious).

7. Allowing gossip and judgment to point out how much better the churchgoers are than the non.

8. An extreme lack of faith in God's power.

9. People who need to feel scolded to feel like they've "had Church." (Just, wow!)

10. A total mess...

I’ve found Christian people can be the meanest and unhappiest people I've ever met. There are exceptions, of course, but these angry, religious zealots have given the world a false picture of Jesus Christ. The church, as it was designed, doesn't even exist in modern society. It can't because of how fractured it has become. This group doesn't agree with that group and this doctrine is different than that. And then there is this rule and that rule. If everyone could be honest, the truth is that they, whoever they are, want it to be hard to be Christian. Why? Because humans want to be better than each other, and if it’s hard to be right, then being right makes you the best. And that's the point of religion. News flash, Christ didn't die for us to have more religion, in fact, he spent quite a bit of his time on earth challenging religious leaders. He died for relationship with humanity! All humanity!

So, if we're supposed to be a unified body, then we've missed the mark. It's odd, my arms don't hate my legs. My hair doesn't hate my foot. In fact, my hair seems to love all of me; a little too much sometimes. So does the Church really function like a body? Not that I've seen...and a better question, why does it seem so hard to be Christian? Well, John 3:16 says, "For God so LOVED the World that he GAVE his only son that WHOEVER believes in him should not perish but have EVERLASTING life." Sound too easy? Maybe the next verse is where God tells the real story about rules and wrath and judgement and discord. In verse 17, it says, "For God did not send his son into the world to judge the world, but that through him it might be saved." Oh wait, there’s no talk of how angry God is, or how happy he is to punish. Actually, in the follow-up, there is an even more definitive statement of God’s love and intentions. But how can it be that easy to follow Christ through simple belief? I guess, maybe, just maybe, God’s not mad, and Christianity isn’t about wrath and judgement but exists because of Gods incredible LOVE! Not his rules. Not his doctrine. Not his angry, unapproachable nature. Just his unfailing love!

I'm sure you're waiting for a point and I promise it's coming. In my last post, I said I was developing a better bulb to shine a brighter, more effective light. This is a very simple start. I want you (myself included) to think of every person you care about that might not believe in Christ or know him or whatever their story is. Now, think of what they hear you say, see you do, or if they know what you believe. Think if they would be in heaven if Jesus did return in 2017. If not, what is your role in that? Do you spend time praying for them? Do you shine a light for them to see? Are you a representation of Jesus for them? If not, why? Before you go out here and try to just tell people they're living in sin and need to repent, READ THE BIBLE AND SEE HOW JESUS DID IT! Your job is not to be God, but to show people who God is through your actions, words, etc. God is LOVE. God = Love.

Are you a part of the church? Or are you a part of a local church that acts more like terminal cancer to the body than a healthy, functioning organ? Do you see positive impact on your community from your body? Have you seen people be hurt and leave the church? Have you asked them to forgive you for your role? Have you asked them what it was that hurt them so bad in the first place? Have they been loved ones? Does your attitude reflect the love of Jesus? If you and I don't like our answers, then it's time we shake things up. It's time to reach out to the world with the loving arms of Christ. It's time to shine light rather than condemn darkness. It’s time to grow up and start acting like a healthy body--the masterpiece that Jesus envisions us to collectively be.

Why?

Because, believe it or not, life is a vapor. It appears for a time and then vanishes away. So, start shining a bright light in your world now... soon it will be gone, one way or another.