January 15 2023
SHELTERING IN THE SHADOWS OF TOMORROW
An incident, its details I have forgotten, has marked my life. I probably, once had an appointment, was quite late, and get such a severe scolding, that now, being on time, has become an ingrained habit with me, making me very ‘time-conditioned’, ruling my life, and even coloring my outlook on eternity.
Colors my outlook on eternity? Yes,
In my biblically biased opinion, I view my life from the perspective of the END. I see myself as ruled by “Teleios”, found in Matthew 5: 48, where Jesus tells us to be ‘teleios’ as his father is ‘teleios’, translated as ‘perfect’. It actually tells us to live life from the end of life on earth to the present.
Life from the ending?
‘Teleios’, translated as ‘perfect’, has no reference to its root, ‘telos’, which means ‘end’. Jesus really means us to be ‘ending-oriented’, measuring life not from birth to death, but living it back from its very end, the New Creation, living a life shaped by that future, that future being the New Creation, the Kingdom to come: “Seek first the Kingdom, the welfare of Creation”, is Jesus’ explicit command. That indicates a perpetually sustainable life, for which I regard my present life as the ‘proving ground’.
A radical new concept.
So, yes, this gives me a totally different outlook on life: it involves a radical change what the “Christian Life” is all about! That a change is needed is obvious: the heaven heresy has totally distorted this concept.
We now live in a time of negative tendencies, more about killing than healing, more about breaking down than building up. It is all too plain that Western culture is fracturing at the seams, with spikes in anxiety, depression and mental illness, loneliness and alienation, with family failure and systemic racism. To stand strong in these days of fracturing, we must adopt rules for life to withstand the onslaught that imposes itself upon us.
I am very aware of this ordeal, with our energy use as the real culprit.
That’s why I am very ‘energy’ conscious. I only turn on a light when it is absolutely necessary. In 1993, when I retired, I installed 3 solar panels and batteries to alleviate my energy use. For decades I used wood for heating but this year, reading about its detrimental influence on air quality. I have given up on wood, using it only when electricity is disrupted.
My daily routine centers on healthy habits, both physical and spiritual. I believe that the Lord has given me my body as a gift to honor him.
Plenty of signs.
Gail Tverberg, an actuary, starts her latest blog, OurFiniteWorld.Com, with these words:
“Why is the economy headed for a financial crash? It appears to me that the world economy hit Limits to Growth about 2018 because of a combination of diminishing returns in resource extraction together with rising population. The Covid-19 pandemic and the accompanying financial manipulations hid these problems for a few years, but now, as the world economy tries to reopen, the problems are back with a vengeance.”
I fully concur with her assessment and see it as another sign that Revelation 18 is about to be implemented. There the heading is The Fall of Babylon, which directly points to a looming collapse, eerily abetted by the US
Republican tiny majority in Congress, a bunch of politicians without a clue about The TIME we live in.
In October, the World Meteorological Organization reported that the atmospheric concentration of all the main greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide – had reached record highs. WMO head Prof Petteri Taalas said: “We are heading in the wrong direction.”
Admit it: Our path to cosmic destruction continues unabated. There’s little we can do about it, even though we must adhere to the best of our ability to live a redeeming life.
2023.
The year 2023 has had an ominous start, witness California, where one of my three daughters lives in Santa Barbara. Even that privileged couple, Harry and Meghan, were under evacuation orders. Climate Change knows no boundaries. Tornadoes anyone?
What I observe all around me, confirms my suspicion that, in spite of repeated warnings and massive conferences, nothing will change.
In 1935 Dr. Johan Huizinga, wrote: “In the Shadows of Tomorrow”. This famous historian then warned, “We live in a world possessed, and we know it.” In 1939 his predictions came true: all hell broke loose.
Today we live in a world even more possessed, even more threatening, even more ominous and devastating: and we too, are ignoring the obvious.
Today, 2023, I shelter in the shadows of tomorrow: waiting,“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays.” Malachi 4:2.