Jesus loves us! He loves us enough to tell us the truth, but He doesn’t reveal more than we can bear, and what He does share, He mixes with mercy (John 16:12). In Luke 21, Jesus blends three times of trouble: the destruction of Jerusalem, the Dark Ages, and the troubles to be experienced just before His return the second time. The list is long and troubling. Speaking of the trouble ahead, Ellen White writes: “It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us. The most vivid presentation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal” GC 622. But Jesus does not leave us gazing with trembling hearts at all the horrors soon to surround us. No! Jesus earnestly seeks to turn our gaze from earthly trouble to His face of love. He simply says, “Look up!” (verse 28). “Look unto Me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 45:22). Jesus cuts across all cultures and meets the needs of every heart. Our Savior knows that “We shall need an experience which we do not now possess and which many are too indolent to obtain” GC 622. So with compassion He tells us just what to do in this crisis hour. He says that there is never a time when it is safe to be taken up with carousing or drunkenness; never a time when the “cares and responsibilities of this life” are to have our full attention (verse 34). Jesus says, “Watch, and pray always, then you will be able to escape all these things and stand before the Son of Man” (verse 36). “Dear Lord, help us turn our eyes on You in watchfulness and prayer. Give us Your strength and grace that we may stand before You when You come, and may it be soon. Amen.” Lynn Carpenter Missionary Nurse (retired)
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 05:56:32 +0000