Monday, December 16, 2013

December 2013 - Looking forward to Judgment Day

As we enter into the Advent season we remember the arrival of Jesus Christ. We celebrate His first coming as a baby in Bethlehem as well as His second, as our Lord and Savior on Judgment Day. Many people fear Judgment day. It is their ignorance of what happens after death which leads them to despair. In fact, ignorance of what tomorrow or the future will bring drives them to seek security in the things of this World. But, as scripture says, the things of this world are eventually “destroyed by rust and moth.” For this reason, the things of this world bring no eternal peace. God, however, offers us eternal peace. As World War II was drawing to a close, the Allied armies ended up gathering together a great many orphans. These children had suffered privation, hunger, and grief; they had lost everything, including their hope for the future and the security of a safe tomorrow. True, these children had been gathered together and placed in camps. There they received excellent medical care and were clothed and fed. They should have thought their troubles were at an end. It was not so. In spite of all they had, these children kept worrying about tomorrow and what the future held. They were listless. They slept poorly. Finally, a psychologist suggested a solution to change their perspective. Each child, when he went to bed, was given a piece of bread. They were instructed not to eat the bread; instead, they were to hold onto it. Those pieces of bread produced wonderful results. The children went to bed knowing they were not going to starve. They knew their tomorrow was taken care of… they were secure. That knowledge, that guarantee, gave them a restful and contented sleep. [The Lutheran Hour - September 14, 2003] God has given us the bread which brings peace. That bread was His Son, Jesus. God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Because we have Jesus, we can look forward to tomorrow, to the future, even to our deaths, with the knowledge our tomorrow has been taken care of. It is this knowledge, this guarantee which brings rest today Blessed Advent and Merry Christmas! Pastor Okubo