Learning the Jesus Way of LifeSample

Preparing for the End

Pray: Jesus, give me the faith to go where you go, do what you do, trust what you say, and love how you love. Today, I commit to following you. Amen.

We all want to know when the end of the world is coming. This phenomenon is nothing new. We write songs about it, make movies about it, and read epic novels of impending disaster.

Jesus’ disciples were no different. They had questions for their rabbi about the last days that the prophets had spoken of. Today, we are going to read Jesus’ response to their questions and learn how we can prepare ourselves for what’s to come.

First and foremost, what you need to know is that there will come a day when Jesus returns to finish what He started. In case no one has told you, Jesus is coming back, and when He does, the fullness of His rule and reign will arrive on earth as it is in heaven.

This is really good news! In fact, it’s the Good News. The Gospel is the good news that Jesus came to rescue us from sin and repair our relationship with God so we can play a part in His plan to restore the world.

When Jesus shows up, He’s not coming to throw out the old to bring in the new. He’s coming to make all things new—because God doesn’t see His creation as a complete disaster with no hope of being salvaged. If He did, then He wouldn’t have offered us a path to salvation. When God created the universe, it was good. When God created us, He called us very good. And His desire was for us to live in perfect communion with Him forever. If we don’t remember how our story begins, then the Gospel sounds less like good news and more like bad news.

This is why so many believers go through life assuming the Christian message can be summed up like this:

We suck. We are separated from God. Sin absolutely wrecked us and the world, so Jesus had to come to save us from ourselves, cause, oh yeah, we suck, but now there’s hope that we can get out of here one day.

And while that is at least partially true—sin does absolutely wreck us and the world, and we desperately need to be rescued from it—what Jesus came to do was so much better than that. He doesn’t stop after pulling us out of the burning building. He pulls us out, clears the smoke from our lungs, and invites us to help Him remove the debris and rebuild something even better than what came before.

The Gospel is good news. It’s the good news of what God has done, what He is doing, and what He will do through Jesus. And all of us have been invited to play a part in His good plans for the world.

With that context, here is what Jesus tells His followers:

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” Matthew 24:6–8 NIV

Jesus tells them, and us, that some things are going to get worse before they get better. Because as His kingdom grows in influence, the forces of darkness will become more reckless and desperate in their attempts to stop it. As the world gets darker, clinging to the light of Jesus will get harder. Jesus is giving us a heads-up so that we can be prepared when it happens. He continues:

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold …” Matthew 24:9–12 NIV

Jesus warns us that our fellowship with Him will put us in the line of fire. We will be persecuted and hated because of Him. For some people, that cost will be too great. So, they will unfollow Jesus and betray the people they once called family. The outcome? The love of most will grow cold. Why does that matter?

Because love is the trademark of kingdom people. When we stop loving, we stop looking like Jesus in the world. And the main way we play our part in God’s mission is by loving others the same way Jesus has loved us. Nothing gets better when we don’t show up the way God has created, called, and equipped us to. He has handpicked us to be His representatives on Earth. But, so often, we allow our fear of people, circumstances, or the unknown to hold us back, to keep us from going all in.

But, for those of us who remain in the all-of-life way of life Jesus has invited us into, Jesus offers this promise:

“but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:13–14 NIV

If you’re willing to keep standing with Jesus, then He promises to always stand with you. No matter how dark or depressing things get, we can have hope because Jesus promises that His good news will be announced to the whole world before the end arrives. And if He says it, we can trust it.

So, when we see sin and darkness rear their ugly head in the world, instead of losing hope, we can be confident because they are in their death throes. They are clinging and grasping for whatever footing they can because they know their fate was sealed the day Jesus beat death by rising from the dead.

So, when is all of this going to take place?

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Matthew 24:36 NIV

We don’t know. Not even Jesus knew when He was walking on the earth. Which means we have a choice to make.

We can let that unknown hold us in fearful captivity, or we can choose to let it motivate us to go all in with the time we have been given, to love relentlessly and unconditionally, to go after the lost with a passion for them to find life and hope in Jesus, to forgive as we have been forgiven, to seek justice by making wrong things right in our communities, and to refuse to give up on others because Jesus absolutely refuses to give up on us.

If we choose to go all in, we can trust that it will be worth it. Because Jesus is coming back to finish what He started. One day, every knee will bow to King Jesus. We can confidently look forward to that day. So, don’t let fear leave you hiding in a holy huddle, waiting for the end to come. Make the most of what you’ve been given. Continue the work that Jesus started of putting the world back together.

Application: How we show up in the world matters. The Jesus way of life is an all-of-life way of life, but the temptation to hold back and hide is real. In what areas of life are you most tempted to hide? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what it would look like for the love of God and others to replace the coldness or cynicism that may have taken root in your heart. Then, take one step toward showing up like Jesus in your home, school, or workplace. Who is He calling you to share hope with today?