In perusing through my personal library last night, I came across The Late, Great Planet Earth, written by Hal Lindsey in 1970. It was the non-fiction bestseller of the 1970’s ~ the first Christian prophecy book published by a secular book publisher, long before any of us were threatened to be Left Behind. I remember copies of that book in the back seat of people’s cars, on coffee shop tables, book bags - everyplace. Part of my family has been born-again Christian for decades, so this book was discussed every time we saw them…
“Wow, Marie is growing up so fast! Marie honey, are you planning to go to college? The Lord is coming back SOON, so you might not want to go to college in NYC or anyplace where there might be intense nuclear explosions, causing you to melt from the inside out.”
(And I thought…the Second Coming of Christ involves His bringing nuclear bombs? Did I somehow miss this in scripture? “I’ll be baaah-ck”?)
“I’m not counting on retirement,” said another cousin. “When Jesus returns, He’s gonna snatch me out of thin air, and I’ll retire in the Heavenly Kingdom! It’s gonna be SOON!”
(“Hey, Rocky – wanna watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat?”)
Well, here we are in 2010, and as of yet, no deus ex machina. Can we imagine what the Second Coming of Christ be like? Will it be a literal return of Jesus? Will it be an intensified and inspiring Spirit descending, a la Pentecost? Or – can we perhaps focus on the fact that Jesus is already present within our hearts right this moment? Maybe we don’t have to wait for the Kingdom of God after all – it’s right here, right now. And if so…what shall we do in the Kingdom today?
Amen, sistah! I wish we could get people to see that the Magic Kingdom is not a fantasy land dreamed up by Walt Disney. It's a promise given to us by God - It's the promise that we will be whole again, that Creation will be whole again, that our relationship with God will be whole again. And it's ours for the taking - as you said, right here, right now.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the GOOD NEWS after all? ;)
Okay, I am so proud to share your name! I love your sense of humor and your deep reflections already. When you find that great Indian food, let's do lunch!
ReplyDeleteMo & Marie -- thanks for posting! Mo, the Good News is at hand, absolutely - and all we need to do is accept it. We are blessed to have a Creator that patiently waits for us to come home. And Marie - love your blog as well! Conversational and inspiring - I will visit often! Yes, let's do an Indian food lunch -- how about after the holidays when things calm down!?! (*counting the days...!*)
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