This just in…
Today is the end of the world!
Or is it?
According to these folks it is. Based on what some consider to be divine revelation (and others fuzzy Bible math) they have found patterns in the Bible that have led to them to believe that the rapture will happen today, May 21st 2011.
For the uninitiated the rapture is when Jesus comes back and calls up those who believed in him to go with him to heaven. As for the folks who are left… we’ll you’ll have to stay tuned to the blog for when I get to that part of Revelation to hear me talk about it.
I’ve heard a ton of people call these folks crazy, stupid, fanatics and even worse. But out of all of these folks I don’t know a single person who actually read the argument for why they believe that today is the day.
That’s wack to me.
Dave Chappelle said something interesting on Inside the Actor’s Studio that relates to this. He said that when someone calls another person crazy really what they are doing is being lazy. Instead of trying to understand them, they just label that which they cannot understand as crazy.
Maybe it makes folks feel more comfortable to be able to categorize things that they don’t understand. When we think someone is crazy it is easy to dismiss them. It allows us to smooth over the discomforts of the world, pack them into a nice and neat box of laughs and ridicule, and go on with our lives as if nothing has changed.
So instead of doing that I checked out their website to see what it’s all about. There’s tons of literature on there. I didn’t read it all and I didn’t agree with everything that I read but at least I took the time to read it. The truth of the matter is that either Jesus will be here in a few hours or He won’t be. I’m not too concerned either way.
But this whole situation made me think something. What if today was the last day on earth as I know it? How would I spend this day? What would I say to the people that I love? What would I do differently today than any other day?
I think that’s a good way to approach every single day. Rapture or not we have no idea when our time will be up. Any one of us could die at any time. The sad thing is that so many of us live preparing for the future or reacting to the past that we never really stop to live in the present.
So, let’s take this rapture day and use it in a positive way. Do something today that you’ve always wanted to do. Say the things that you always wanted to say. Show the love that you always wanted to show. Whether or not tomorrow comes isn’t the point. The point is to live life as fully as possible, spreading as much love as possible. That way we will have no regrets when each evening passes away.
Looks like the "expected" rapture date has been pushed back. Not a bad thing, right?
ReplyDeleteIf today were the last, how would I want to live it? How would I want to leave it? Poignant.
Sometimes I think I'd want to go blazing into that dark night, doing all that it isn't appropriate. Like telling those that I feel have hurt me, all that I feel without consideration or inhibition. Alas, reality is always ever present to remind me that the "last day" may not come when expected and tomorrow as hoped, could again be upon me. Tomorrow unplanned could be quite regretful. Today not lived, the same.
Here's to "getting up" today, planning tomorrow, and surrendering in the enjoyment of them both.
@Alegria Well said.
ReplyDelete