Last-day living necessitates pressing priorities. A business-as-usual mentality no longer works amidst the unique challenges and demands of the end times, so what exactly are we to do? Here are directives that spell it out clearly:
"The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." (1 Peter 4:7-11)
A proper mental attitude for the purpose of prayer, fervent love, hospitality, and service according to giftedness all factor in to last-day living. But, these directives don't sound any different than the marching orders we have any other time. Shouldn't the end times demand survivalism, secretive communal living, and special evangelistic fervor?
The fact is, we're well over two thousand years into "the last days." They began with a dramatic declaration by the apostle Peter in Jerusalem at a Jewish festival celebration: "'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND ..." (Acts 2:17). If there is such a thing as the "norm" for us, it is that we live our lives in "the last days". That knowledge, then, adds special emphasis to these pressing priorities. We pray as though today was the last day. We love fervently in the moment. We gladly welcome one another into our homes. We fully serve today while we have the opportunity.
For us, every day is lived in "the last days". The possibility of this being the last day of the last days has never been closer, or truer. In less time than you can blink your eyes, time could give way to eternity.
The older I get, the more aware I become of the fact that mortality supersedes prophecy. In other words, the end of life looms at least as large as the Second Coming. "The end of all things is near" is true for every mortal being, whether the human author of these words over two thousand years ago, or you and I who live a heartbeat from the end. Whether from the standpoint of prophecy or mortality, end-time priorities are more pressing than we fully realize.
We have this moment, but perhaps not the next. There is urgency in the now. Pray purposefully. Love fervently. Welcome graciously. Serve diligently. Devotion to these pressing priorities will never lead to regret; life in the age to come will be more than ample reward for devotion to its essentials today.
Steve
© 2010, Steve Taylor
"The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." (1 Peter 4:7-11)
A proper mental attitude for the purpose of prayer, fervent love, hospitality, and service according to giftedness all factor in to last-day living. But, these directives don't sound any different than the marching orders we have any other time. Shouldn't the end times demand survivalism, secretive communal living, and special evangelistic fervor?
The fact is, we're well over two thousand years into "the last days." They began with a dramatic declaration by the apostle Peter in Jerusalem at a Jewish festival celebration: "'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND ..." (Acts 2:17). If there is such a thing as the "norm" for us, it is that we live our lives in "the last days". That knowledge, then, adds special emphasis to these pressing priorities. We pray as though today was the last day. We love fervently in the moment. We gladly welcome one another into our homes. We fully serve today while we have the opportunity.
For us, every day is lived in "the last days". The possibility of this being the last day of the last days has never been closer, or truer. In less time than you can blink your eyes, time could give way to eternity.
The older I get, the more aware I become of the fact that mortality supersedes prophecy. In other words, the end of life looms at least as large as the Second Coming. "The end of all things is near" is true for every mortal being, whether the human author of these words over two thousand years ago, or you and I who live a heartbeat from the end. Whether from the standpoint of prophecy or mortality, end-time priorities are more pressing than we fully realize.
We have this moment, but perhaps not the next. There is urgency in the now. Pray purposefully. Love fervently. Welcome graciously. Serve diligently. Devotion to these pressing priorities will never lead to regret; life in the age to come will be more than ample reward for devotion to its essentials today.
Steve
© 2010, Steve Taylor
posted by steve @ 8:08 AM
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