Saturday, March 26, 2011

Mark 13

4 comments:

Unknown said...

the whole allegory of "birth pangs" in association with "the end" is so incredibly vivid. As time ticks on and the earth continues to groan under the burden of its fallen state, we see these pains intensify in strength and frequency and know that our "(re)birth" gets closer. I read something in one of Shailey's readers a couple of week's ago that touched me so deeply inside about the attitude we should have towards death (which in reality is just birth....) thought I would dredge it up and share it again here;

"Didn't I want to be born?" Kino asked. This was very interesting to him. "You did not. You wanted to stay just where you were in the warm, dark house of the unborn. But the time came to be born and the gate of life opened." "Did I know it was the gate of life?" Kino asked. "You did not know anything about it and so you were afraid of it," his father replied. "But see how foolish you were? Here we were waiting for you, your parents, already loving you and eager to welcome you. And you have been very happy, haven't you?" "Until the big wave came," Kino replied. "Now I am afraid again, because of the death that the big wave brought." "You are only afraid because you don't know anything about death," his father replied. "But someday you will wonder why you were afraid, even as today you wonder why you feared to be born."

I love that. As believers we have nothing to fear when things start to spiral out of control in this universe. We have only reason to hope for our redemption as it draws nearer. I love the closing sentence in this chapter. "Be ready!"

I also highly recommend Foxes Book of Martyrs. We read one entry per week. Sure changes your perspective on life and death.

Berry Girl said...

oh wow. I love that passage you quoted. I TOTALLY get freaked out by the End Times stuff - it's scary to me. I have a tough time with eternity too - I can't wrap my mind around it and so it kind of scares me too. But what a great analogy. We're afraid because we don't know, and after we see how foolish we were to be afraid. Love it. Thank you.

Unknown said...

you're welcome =)

Denise said...

Thanks PC! That is really beautiful and reassuring!

“Months of planning go into a wedding, the birth of a baby, a career change, a speaking engagement, the purchase of a home. Do you place the same importance on preparing for Christ’s return, the most important event in your life? Its results will last for eternity. You dare not postpone your preparations because you do not know when his return will occur. The way to prepare is to study God’s Word and live by its instructions each day. Only then will you be ready.

Mark 13 tells us how to live while we wait for Christ’s return: (1) We are not to be misled by confusing claims or speculative interpretations of what will happen. (2) We should not be afraid to tell people about Christ, despite what they might say or do to us. (3) We must stand firm by faith and not be surprised by persecution. (4) We must be morally alert, obedient to the commands for living found in God’s Word. This chapter was not given to promote discussions on prophetic timetables but to stimulate right living for God in a world where he is largely ignored.”