Are we at the end of the world?  As I continue to weep over the tragedy of the earthquake in Nepal, I occasionally think of the many points in the New Testament in which Jesus describes what humanity can expect as this present age draws to a close. There will be wars and earthquakes, he says, and signs and wonders in the sky, along with widespread discord, famine, disease, and social strife.
     Does not this sound, however, like what has been happening on the planet for untold centuries? Though many believers, regardless of the era or time in which they live, want to think that theirs is the one in which history as we know it will draw to a close, we should all think again.  Writing in the oppressive and often debauched and corrupted shadow of the Roman Empire, those who composed the New Testament perhaps had every reason to think that the Parousia (Jesus' return) was imminent.  How much more, they reasoned, could the world take?
     Quite a bit more, it seems.  The planet is highly resilient, as are human beings.  And the universe even more so.  It will likely be around for billions and billions more years. Frankly, I'm not eager for the end.  Every person on this planet has more to give, and many of them may well birth other people with even more to give.  Would we not rather see greater growth in human harmony, harmony with each other as well as with God, that will accrue to everyone's benefit than to abruptly end it all? 
     Long for God, yes, but long for the people and planet he has made, too.  How good is God if humanity destroys itself?

KEEP PRAYING FOR THE PEOPLE OF NEPAL