A Response by Pastor Mark Finlay to the recent videos posted online... The Pope and Church Unity - How Close are We? Recently, I viewed a moving video clip of Tony Palmer, an Anglican/Episcopal bishop, addressing a gathering of Pentecostal ministers with a message from Pope Francis appealing for unity and reconciliation. In a heartwarming message the Pontiff reached out to the pastors present inviting them into the warm embrace of the Catholic Church. Kenneth Copeland, a popular Pentecostal minister, responded extremely positively to the Pope’s call for unity. Only time will tell where these overtures will eventually lead. How should Seventh-day Adventists respond to these and other rather striking world events? Here is my take on all of this. We should neither ignore these developments nor overreact to them. To ignore the significant events taking place in the religious, political, social, and economic world is to deny the reality that we are living in incredibly unusual times. To be lethargic on the knife edge of eternity may be eternally fatal. To echo with the slothful servant, “My Master is delaying His coming” is a recipe for spiritual disaster. (Matthew 24:48) Ellen White writes, “Those who place themselves under God’s control, to be led and guided by Him, will catch the steady tread of the events ordained by Him to take place.” (7T, 14) There is no one sign that the coming of Christ is imminent but if we view our world with spirit-anointed eyes we will see the “steady tread of events.” We will avoid both the extreme of apathy in the light of eternity and its opposite, end time sensationalism. There are those conscientious, but misguided, Adventist Christians who see in almost every news headline an omen that Christ is coming this year or next. Some have the prophetic timetables all calculated to forecast their opinion of just when Jesus will come. The one thing that matters above all else is not so much the exact time of Christ’s coming but preparation for His coming. The only way to be ready for our Lord’s return is to love Christ supremely, know Christ intimately, obey Christ willingly and share Christ passionately. As Luther Warren, a powerful Adventist preacher from yesteryear, once said, “ The only way to be ready for Christ’s second coming is to get ready today and stay ready.” The purpose of all of the signs of Christ’s coming is not to make us sign-watchers. The purpose of the signs is to lead us to a deeper, richer, fuller relationship with Jesus. May it be so with each one of us.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 09:44:22 +0000
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