BY GREG CRUM
PASTOR, CALVARY TEMPLE

“Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:13-14

Have you noticed the groundswell concerning the coming of the Lord that has been piquing excitement in some Christian communities here lately? There seems to be a growing awareness that the “catching away” of the church could come soon and that life as we’ve known it all our lives could pivot toward those happenings revealed in the books of Daniel and Revelation that eventually lead to a new Heaven and a new Earth.

Now, whether you are of the camp that believes these Bible prophecies will happen in our lifetime or not, I hope you can see how, by living with this expectation in our hearts, we could demonstrate a proper perspective on the here and now while we are waiting for the Lord’s return.

So, back to the recent sense of the imminence of the Lord’s coming for his church. There’s good reason for the optimism. When I read Matthew 24 and the Epistles of I and II Thessalonians, it seems evident to me that the next significant event to occur in God’s “End of Days” timeline is the “catching up,” or “gathering together” (King James terminology) or as we most often describe it, the “Rapture” of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Once this occurs there follows seven years of Great Tribulation, followed by the Final Judgment on this world as we know it, and then for all currently alive and those that have lived before us, our eternal reward (positive or negative as the case may be).

There are numerous details, both known and unknown, in the happenings of the Last Days and our eternal future, but that’s the summary generally accepted by most Christians down through the years. With that said, why would it be important for us to be aware of these things and live with the hope of these happenings coming to pass in our lives?

Well, sure, we could live by the “don’t get your hopes up” and “lower your expectations” mindset of the emotionally conservative. However, if we do that in relation to the Lord’s coming in our lifetime, we run the risk of failing to gain and maintain proper perspective in and on this life.

Friends, in the day and age we are living in, it is easy to get caught up in a form of “life” and lose Godly perspective. We can run for and run after everything and everybody but the One that we should be pursuing. As believers in Jesus, it’s important that we regularly touch base with the reality that this life doesn’t go on forever; we could all be “caught up” at any time and realize what is most important and what should be our pursuit and focus in this short time we have in this life. We need to be ever aware that while some of this life’s pursuits may be good, that doesn’t mean they are worth our time. These “good” things often become hindrances to our pursuit of God’s desires for us in this life.

Remember Mark 4:14-20? There, we read that things in this life can choke out what is most important if we allow them to. How many “good” things have we allowed to become injurious to our spiritual welfare over the years?

So, what should be our pursuit, then? Matthew 6:33 puts it beautifully as it states, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness…” Colossians 3:2 adds to that same testimony when it tells us, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” When the Lord and His kingdom are our first affection, and we refuse to allow other “affections” to take their place, we can see things through the Lord’s eyes and maintain the right perspective on the everyday goings-on of this life.

Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.