Luke 21:5-11

“And he said, ‘Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and, “The time is near!” Do not go after them.’” vs. 8

There’s nothing like questions about the end times to get people riled up. Most followers of Jesus don’t spend much time worrying about such things–they know that every generation brings new theories and predictions and so far every one of them has been wrong. So they know it’s pointless to even think about the end–God is in charge and that means there’s nothing to worry about. But some folks in our congregations just can’t let it go! They read all the books about the rapture and search the internet for descriptions of the Lawless One or the Antichrist. And when they’ve gathered enough fragments of unrelated proof they put together some more predictions about the time and place of Christ’s return. Jesus made it very clear to his disciples that they should just ignore the false prophets, and Paul had the same message for the people in the congregations that he started. As disciples we have a mission in the world, and it’s been the same from the beginning. Our call is to proclaim the good news of forgiveness and hope in every way we can. It’s that message that transforms lives and brings restoration to the broken and lost. Christ is here now and the Kingdom of Peace is at hand!

Thought for the Day: What’s the best way to avoid being distracted from our mission?