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Abortion. Poverty. Malnutrition. Slavery. Oppression. War. Famine. Drought. AIDS. Abuse.
"What a Wonderful World," right?
When faced with any one of these tragedies, it's easy to be fired up and feel ready to hit it head on.
But where do we start?
You know, Jesus told a story about this once. Soon before His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples a parable. In this parable, a man was going on a journey and entrusted his servants with money before he left. To one servant he gave five talents, to one servant he gave two talents, and to another servant he gave one talent. When he returned, he called his servants to give account for how they managed his money. The servant with the five talents and the servant with the two talents both doubled the amount that their master had entrusted to them. Interestingly, the master gave both servants the exact same compliment, even though one servant gained five talents and one servant gained two. They both were faithful stewards with what they were given, and they both heard: "'"Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master"'" (Matthew 25:21, 23). The servant with the two talents wasn't responsible for the five the other servant had. He was only held accountable for the two that had been entrusted to him, and for what he did with what he was given.
Maybe we feel like we should be changing the world in big, noteworthy ways. While it is true that we could be called to do big things, we are also often called to do small things. It doesn't matter how big our works are; what matters is our faithfulness to what God has called us to do. Sometimes we may want bigger responsibilities than we have been entrusted with - but here Jesus gives encouragement. Whenever you find yourself doing something that you know is God's will (like cleaning your room) but not on your list of life goals, remember the master's words to his servants: "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master."
God is sovereign over you, where you live, who you know, what you're good at, what you enjoy. He knows what righteous burden is on your heart (be it abortion in your city or slavery in Africa), because He put it there. What good work He has begun in you, He will complete. With unmatchable knowledge and perfect timing, He will guide you as you seek to magnify Him in your God-given mission and faithfully complete any tasks He has called you to do now. You can't do it alone. You can't do it all. It is a good thing you don't have to.
Believe it or not, there is no Superman or Superwoman with special powers to save the world. That is God's job. And He is doing it. And, wonder of wonders, He is using us to do it. We don't have to invent a world-saving plan. God already has one. We don't have to solve the world's problems - and we couldn't even if we tried. We are only called to be faithful where God has us, be that the halls of Congress or the halls of our own home. God multiplied the loaves and fish. He can multiply our feeble efforts in His service.
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"The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?'"
Revelation 6:14-17
"'Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner...'"
Isaiah 51:6
Harold Camping thinks the world will end today. A radio preacher, Camping believes that Biblical evidence points to the second coming of Christ on May 21, 2011.
There's just one problem.
Who told him?
Jesus told a parable about ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom at a marriage feast (Matthew 25:1-13). In Jewish custom, virgins lit the way for a bridegroom to go into a house to meet his waiting bride. In Jesus' parable, ten virgins - five wise and five foolish - waited for the groom, lamps in their hands.
Now, Jesus' story is a parable, and all parables have a deeper meaning than what appears on the surface. Jesus was illustrating a story about His coming. In the story, He is the bridegroom, and the virgins are those waiting for Him to come. The five wise virgins are true believers; their lamps don't burn out because He has lit them. The five foolish virgins are hypocrites, claiming to believe but really remaining in their sin. They have not brought extra oil for their lamps: "They had just the oil enough to make their lamps burn for the present, to make a show with" (Matthew Henry, commentary on Matthew 25). They weren't ready for the bridegroom's return.
Camping isn't the first to predict a date for Christ's return. And he won't be the last.
"And they asked him, 'Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?' And he said, 'See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, "I am he!" and, "The time is at hand!" Do not go after them'" (Luke 21:7-8).
When you dig deeper, there are more twists to Harold Camping's story than it first appears. Camping has predicted the end of the world before (in 1994, to be exact), and preaches doctrines that are blatantly unbiblical. Even if Camping's theology was sound (which it isn't), there would be another reason to disbelieve his prediction. When Jesus was on earth, He told His disciples that He didn't even know the date of His second return (see Matthew 24:36). If Jesus didn't know then, how can we presume to know now?
"Christ's coming will be at our midnight, when we least look for him, and are most disposed to take our rest...Christ will come when he pleases, to show his sovereignty, and will not let us know when, to teach us our duty" (Matthew Henry).
The world will end one day. For some, it will be a day of terror. For others, a day of realized hope. The second part of Isaiah 51:6 gives comfort to those who belong to God.
"Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;
but my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will never be dismayed."
Isaiah 51:6, emphasis added
Many have believed Harold Camping's prediction that the world will end today. And it might. The day's not over yet! But the question of eternity is, will you be ready?
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells."
2 Peter 3:10-13, emphasis added
I am Nehemiah. I am a Hebrew, but have lived in service to King Artaxerxes of Persia since my native land was overrun and laid waste. As the Persian king’s cupbearer, I have long been a trusted member of his court. One day I entered his presence with a saddened heart. Noticing my unhappiness, he asked why I was downcast. “O king,” I answered him, and poured out my distress over the ruins of my native country. “‘What would you request?’” the king asked (Nehemiah 2:4). After praying quickly to my God I answered the king. “‘If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it’” (Neh. 2:5). Before long I found myself traveling to Jerusalem by the king’s order. He sent with me his cavalry, and letters of permission to governors of areas I would be traveling through. The Jews were easily stirred to rebuild their fallen capital city. The gates were rebuilt quickly, with everyone doing their part. We had begun the work – the walls would soon be complete, I was sure of it.
But I should have known that such easy work would not last. Soon Sanballat and Tobiah, high and powerful officials, began to threaten and endanger the work. I can still hear their taunts in my mind: “‘What are those feeble Jews doing? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?’” Sanballat scoffed. Tobiah also insulted us: “‘What they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!’” (Neh. 4:2-3) I responded by trusting in God. “Hear, O our Yahweh, how we are despised! Return their reproach on their own heads” (Neh. 4:4). The people continued to work with all their hearts, even though Sanballat, Tobiah, and our neighbors plotted against us and the work we had undertaken. We prayed to Yahweh and guarded ourselves. The laborers were growing weary, and our enemies continued to plan evil things against us. Not only was the work difficult and strenuous, but our enemies insisted on piling difficulty after difficulty on us. We learned of danger plotted by Sanballat and Tobiah. When they discovered that their plans had been discovered by us and frustrated by Yahweh, they left us alone, but they were still angry. Half of us stood guard while the other half worked with their weapons at their side. Daily we faced hardship. We grew tired. However, by the grace of God, we continued to work in the face of adversity. Despite the difficulty and danger, we continued to persevere.
Far above and beyond my expectations, Yahweh saw fit to allow us to complete the work in only fifty-two days! Our enemies were astounded, afraid, and lost their confidence because they knew that Yahweh did this. “Remember me, O my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people” (Neh. 5:19). Remember our work in spite of our trials. Remember, O LORD, how we did not give up.
“Aagh!” Amy puffed. “Math is impossible! I just can’t divide fractions,” she complained as her mom walked into the room. “I’ve tried this problem over and over and reworked it several different ways, but it’s not working. Maybe I could skip Mr. Benson’s math this year and just go on to algebra next year.” “But what if there are fractions in algebra?” her mom suggested. While Amy wondered if algebra had fractions, she noticed that her baby sister Addison was toddling around a small table. All of a sudden, Addison let go of the table and tried to walk by herself. After only two steps, she fell down. Amy watched as Addy immediately pulled herself back up. Amy’s mom was watching Addison, too. “Amy, look at how much Addy falls – walking seems almost impossible for her. Shouldn’t she just give up? Maybe she can just skip walking and start gymnastics in a few months.” Confused, Amy looked at her mother. “But, Mom, how can she do gymnastics if she can’t walk? She’ll figure out how to walk – she’s so close.” “Exactly,” Amy’s mom smiled. “Think of how often Addy falls down. Yet each time she gets back up and tries again; she is persevering to learn how to walk. Just like Addy can’t skip walking and go straight to gymnastics, you can’t skip dividing fractions and go straight to algebra. You have to know fractions to learn algebra. Not only that, but you will learn the perseverance and determination you’ll need for algebra by working hard on dividing fractions. When you’re tempted to give up, think of Hebrews 10:36: ‘You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.’” “I think I get it now,” Amy said as she turned back to her math book.
Amy plodded away for another thirty minutes on her math problems, often thinking of Addy’s perseverance despite her falls and many bumps and bruises. The next day she was thrilled to see an A on her math test. Victory! she thought. Smiling to herself, she went to the other room where her sister was again toddling around the table. “Come on, Addy, you can do it!” she encouraged as she held her arms open for her little sister. Slowly, Addy balanced herself as she let go of the table, then took four quick steps into Amy’s waiting arms. “Yay, Addy! Way to go!” Amy cheered. “See?” she reminded her sister. “Perseverance pays off.”
This past spring I planted a garden. I had planned for it for months; everything was ready. One April morning, with great hopes and expectations, I started with the lettuce seeds. In the days following the planting, we had torrential rains. After waiting in vain for the lettuce to sprout, I determined that the rain had washed away the lettuce seeds. So, I planted lettuce again. After a few weeks of watering the seeds and tending to other areas of the garden, the lettuce finally came up. Unfortunately, I was not the only one interested in lettuce. The first signs of attack were noticed when I went to the garden one morning. The small but promising heads of lettuce had been turned into dejected stumps. However, I was not to be quickly defeated. Armed with a bottle of rabbit repellant, I went on the defensive. No more signs of attack appeared, and the lettuce seemed to have a new lease on life. Just when I felt safe in not applying rabbit repellant, they struck again. Again, I applied the repellant and all seemed well. Again, I felt safe in waiting just one more day to spray some more repellant. And once again, the wascally rabbits attacked. My hopes of a profitable harvest dwindled with the remains of the lettuce left from the last (and final) assault.
It takes perseverance to keep working in a garden when you seem to lose all your hard work to rabbits. In the same way, it takes perseverance when your schoolwork seems impossible. I’ve noticed that my baby brother needs perseverance as he learns to walk just as much as Nehemiah needed it when he was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem in the face of persecution. Whether you’re dealing with annoyances, obstacles, or just plain hard work, it will take perseverance to keep doing what is right. What are your challenges right now? Is it school? Ask God to help you persevere and learn from your effort. Is it a bothersome brother or sister? Ask God to help you persevere and learn to love that brother or sister. Is it reaching a difficult goal? Ask God to help you persevere and learn that He will always help those who serve Him.
Gardening takes on new dimensions when you add persistent rabbits. This time it was easy to determine the victors in the perseverance contest: the rabbits got a lot more lettuce than I did. Next time I’ll have to remember that those who persevere get the lettuce!
When missionary John Paton stepped onto the New Hebrides island of Tanna in 1858, little did he know what challenges awaited him. He did know who awaited him. The New Hebrides islands, east of Australia, were full of natives who practiced brutal religions. Murders occurred daily; human life was considered a small thing to throw away. Paton himself counted fifty times that his life was endangered. Once he was forced off an island where he had worked for four years. The natives had tried to burn down his house – with him in it. He returned to a different island in the New Hebrides a few years after being forced to leave the island where he had worked. Why did he return? How long would he be able to work among people so hostile to the Gospel? How long could he last among a brutal people who tried to kill him multiple times?
Tirelessly, Paton and his wife Margaret served the people of Aniwa, a New Hebrides island. They built orphanages, held Sunday services, and dispensed medications. Mrs. Paton taught a school for girls. John Paton poured himself into the work of learning the Aniwan language and writing it down. Within fifteen years, the New Hebrides island of Aniwa became a Christian nation. Triumphantly, Paton wrote, "I claimed Aniwa for Jesus, and by the grace of God Aniwa now worships at the Savior's feet".
Paton spent his entire life in service to God. He persevered under exhausting circumstances and seemingly impossible situations. God blessed his work with great fruit. As Paton himself said, “Let me record my immovable conviction that this is the noblest service in which any human being, can spend or be spent; and that, if God gave me back my life to be lived over again, I would without one quiver of hesitation lay it on the altar to Christ…” Knowing the challenges that he faced, the dangers, difficulties, and damages – he would have done it again. He knew that the Gospel was worth his sacrifices, his hard work. He knew that the Gospel was worth his perseverance.
