How End-Time Theology Hurts Living in the Present
Can we really love our neighbor?
Going back to church has given me lots to write about…
Someone in our small group, in response to a comment that we should be loving and accepting of LGBTQ, said, “Now is the time of love and acceptance, but one day Jesus will return and judge the earth. His first coming was one of forgiveness and grace, but his second coming will bring his judgment and wrath.”
It caused me to pause….
If we believe that at any moment — when we least expect it — Jesus will return and pour out his judgment, how do we relate to one another today? Can we extend grace and forgiveness to anyone if we believe that at any second, God will come back and zap every sinner for not believing in his Son? Can we relate to non-believers in a normal way?
Go with me for a just minute with this thought experiment:
The second before Jesus’s return, we are all supposed to be loving, caring, and compassionate to all the “sinners.” Then in the next moment, Jesus has returned, and we join him in condemning and watching all our loved ones who did not “believe” be sent to eternal punishment.
I mean, not to be snarky, but how does Jesus manage that whiplash of emotions? One moment he is caring…
