While resting in  my recliner this afternoon I wondered to myself, “Why are we vacuuming, planting flowers, doing yardwork and all that stuff if Jesus is returning today at 6pm EST?”  Then I remembered how my parents raised me: Leave every place better than you found it!  So I guess that’s what we are doing.  One might say we are going green before going gold! 🙂

At 6:04 CST I posted on Facebook, “It’s 6:04…our family got left behind. I guess we’ll go have dinner and see a movie…Taco Bell and Rio, here we come! Maybe the mid-trib rapture people were right after all!”

No earthquake.  No rapture.  No fire from heaven.  How will I respond to this, yet another errant prediction about the return of Jesus Christ?

OPTION_01

Respond with cynicism and sarcasm.  A plethora of these types of reactions can be found all over Facebook, YouTube, news outlets and blogs.  I’ve seen several pictures posted of supposedly abandoned clothes lying on the ground, in John Deere tractors and in the driver’s seat of a car.  Reports of scheduled “rapture parties” could be heard on CNN and  Fox News.  Joining the abundance of cynical and sarcastic material bashing this failed Harold Camping prediction would be quite simple.

OPTION_02

Go back to life as usual, and never give it another thought.

OPTION_03

Contemplate where I stand with God.  “The fact of the matter is… we are all a heartbeat away from eternity. Whether you [stood] before God on May 21st, or whether you stand before Him 50 years from now, is irrelevant in the scope of eternity. The important thing isn’t when you stand before God; it’s where you stand with God.” — Will Graham, grandson of Billy Graham

Rather than spending hours analyzing the failed doomsday date prediction, we would be smart to ask some deeper questions.  Have we given our full life allegiance to God?  Have we turned from sin, allowed the blood of Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin, and received God’s forgiveness?

OPTION_04

Consider living with an eternal perspective.  But what does that look like?

• Not sweating the small stuff and remembering the big picture.  Asking myself, “Will this matter in 10 years?  In 5 years?  In 6 hours? In 20 minutes?”
• Focusing on what really matters…healthy relationships, character, integrity, encouraging words, etc.
• Putting less confidence and value in “stuff”–material possessions.
• Choosing to make Jesus both Savior and Lord.
• Being less concerned about what people think of us, and more concerned about doing what’s right and helping others.
• Being more forgiving.
• Serving others more than myself.
• Being a part of the life of God rather than making God a part of my life.
• Helping others be prepared for eternity and facing God.

What other options come to your mind?  What does living with an eternal perspective look like to you?  Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section below.

Lord, we thank you for the promise of your return.  Help us to be ready and to live lives that bring glory to you.  My our lives reflect a value for our relationship with you and a priority upon living for eternity.  Empower us to live in such a way that  our lives make people want to know you as well.  Thank you for your promise to return for us one day.  Until then, we worship you.  We make you Lord.  And we stand ready.  Amen!