“The Unimpressive Path to Immortality”
The world is in travail. So much pain. So much suffering. So much Strife. So much hate. So much fear. So much uncertainty. Nothing seems to be excluded — global institutions, nations, organizations, schools, groups, relationships, and individuals are caught in the web.
Yes, there have been diverse times of trouble in the past, but it all seems to be coming together these days. And we are daily inundated by the news, reports, and “analyses” like never before. Diseases, wars, natural disasters, extreme weather, political turmoil, economic hardship, conspiracies, betrayal, heartbreak, and more. They are hitting in different places and in different ways.
Are we approaching or already in the days that Christ spoke of: “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:25–26, NKJV)?
Sounds like today’s news previewed centuries ahead of time.
Amid all this, what should we do, especially about how we are affected personally?
The key is simpler than we might think, though many who should know seem disconnected and are grabbing after shadows like “others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Greg Morse writes about it in his article for Desiring God, “The Unimpressive Path to Immortality”:
“We do not conquer Mount Everest or climb the treetops of the Amazon to receive special revelation and feed faith — we meet Jesus upon the narrow way, the hard way, the simple way of Bible meditation in the Spirit and prayer. Do we take it for granted? Some of us need to be asked: If Jesus dwelled in the Everglades or resided on the moon, and we were told we could hear from him, learn from him, and receive eternal life from him there, would you not make valiant efforts to go to him? Then why do we have three translations of the Bible in our homes that go unread?
“As with Elisha, the word comes not in theatrics — not in fire, in thunder, in earthquake — but in a whisper. Will we hear it? As one commentator says, ‘God often tests us with small things’ (Donald Wiseman, 1 and 2 Kings: An Introduction and Commentary, 220). Do not be deceived by the littleness of the ordinary means of grace into neglecting them.”
As he bears out, the key is the Word, the Bible, the book that foretold it all and predicts the eventual outcome. It’s the key to freedom from fear and uncertainty, to securing yourself amid the storm. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
As an alternative to the many negative “so much” we started with, you can have so much hope and stability in the present troublous times by turning to the Word (see Romans 8:24–25).
God bless you!
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