What If?

Recently, I saw a movie about the end of the world. Although I assumed that I was going regret watching a movie of this type, it actually lead me into some deep contemplation. There were many Biblical references regarding the end times (their interpretations skewed, of course) but I was surprised at how the ones they used were not the common/well-known ones. They had obviously done their homework. The story followed that there was a super-blast from the sun’s rays which obliterated the entire planet and everything on it – save for a small number of children who were taken away by the angels to repopulate a new world.

What shook me so much was that there were only a small number of people left in the end who were saved (believed in a Savior.) The rest of the world was just chaos and desperation. And, as a devout believer, that really didn’t settle well in my spirit. It was just a fictional story, but what if that’s how the end happened? How could this God that I believed cares so deeply for his people come at a time when there were only a few that knew him? Wasn’t there supposed to be a great gathering of believers throughout the world as Jesus returned to rescue his followers? And would the gracious God of the universe leave no last chance for the lost to return to him before he ended it all? As these thoughts continued to bombard my convictions, each of them was silenced by a burning desire to ask the question “what if?” But avoidance seemed much safer considering the possibility that not finding an answer to this critical question could cause my entire belief system to come unraveled. But I still couldn’t shake it.

Apparently God wanted to show me something in this.

Sometimes in life you have to allow yourself to walk into the dark places, even when you’re afraid, so you can learn that fear and darkness aren’t an end – we can still find our way even when we can’t see it.

And it was there in that dark space the God reminded me of who he is.

You see, if God is who he says he is then his nature alone would prohibit him from ending everything without regard to those who weren’t yet or would become saved. His will is that none should perish. If God is really the God of the universe, the creator and sustainer of every living thing, he would render himself a liar if he destroyed everything before all those who might believe had come to believe in him. And so, although we don’t know when this world will end, we can rest in the fact that it cannot happen until all those who would be saved are saved. I believe that we’ve been religiously led to believe that if we don’t tell everyone right now, right away, that it could be their fate on our shoulders for the rest of eternity. Although I do believe that in part, I think that God is trying to get us to open our eyes to a different reality. What if God really does move his Kingdom through us, his believers? What if those who might be saved need us to be that vessel of salvation for them?

What if the timing of Jesus’ return hinges on that exact moment in time in which the number of people alive is perfectly balanced between those who might be saved finally being saved and those who would never open their hearts to be saved, not? – That moment in time when no one is left undecided anymore...

Thinking back on the movie, what if the scale at that time were to be completely tipped? What I mean is, what if there are far more of those who have made the decision to follow after the enemy and have closed their hearts to Heaven than there are who believe? There is no way for us to know how that will look when the time comes, but it pains my spirit, makes me want to scream, thinking about “what if?” What if evil reaches more than the good does? And aren’t we on the path to that right now anyways? If we as believers continue to sit complacent in our comfortable lives and decide to leave it to those more passionate than us to share God’s salvation, could it be possible that the enemy might be a bit more effective at spreading his false hope and wrong convictions to more people than we reach with our measly efforts of sharing truth?

I solemnly believe that God is without question more powerful than the enemy’s influence in this world, but I also know that the hearts of people, year after year, become more trusting of falsities than of a God they cannot see amidst so much evil. We are supposed to be a light to them, yet we get just as caught-up in the lies as they do because we don’t ever really open our eyes to God’s Kingdom. Every day there is more and more blindness among God’s people. We choose to turn our eyes from the pain, to shrug and say “I’ll just pray for them. Surely God will do something,” and we move on without even thinking of trying to offer ourselves to them.

We get so caught-up in the latest TV shows and who’s going to be the next top model because we don’t want to be “out-of-the-loop” of things. We attend church and even volunteer, but we still doubt that the God of the universe can heal our sicknesses and broken hearts. What so many people are blinded to see is that God doesn’t just exist in the text of a historical book, he doesn’t just sound good in lyrics and stories – He is good. He cannot do anything but good. He doesn’t just love us when we are loveable, his is love - He cannot stop his love for us. God has no boundaries to his power. Whatever we need he can provide. And yet, it’s easier for us to grasp that beauty gains love; television holds the answers to our deepest needs; and we’ve just got to grit our teeth and make it through this life on our own because, after all, we’re the only ones that can control our fate. We’ve become so out-of-touch with God’s Kingdom, that we’ve left him bound from rescuing us. We believe that a pill can heal our diseases and so we bind God’s power because we don’t have the faith in him being the true source of our healing. We read all the latest self-help books before we think to ask for God’s opinion of our lives. Don’t you see it? Don’t you see that we’re becoming just as influenced by the lies of the enemy as those who don’t even know the Father? Shouldn’t it be that we seek him first if we really grasp who he is?

We love to learn about the latest and greatest in marketing schemes for our businesses, yet all the while the enemy is reaching worldwide with his business of marketing lies. When are we going to wake-up and begin focusing on what really matters?

What if that day comes tomorrow that the world would end and there are only a few that believed and everyone else perished? Although my belief in the nature of God tells me that this won’t be the case, I don’t want to sit back while the enemy reaches worldwide spreading desperation, pride, and complacency, closing everyone’s eyes to God’s salvation and hope. What if on that last day I had to look my sister in the eye and desperately try to save her soul because I didn’t think it was important before? Or what if my best friend has to battle the pain and desperation of losing a child to suicide because I never took the time to share the hope that I have with her? What if I could have spared multitudes from sickness, pain, and hell, and I just never took the time to because I didn’t believe?

What if we’re missing out on the greatest power in the universe? What if it’s true that there is a God who is all around us, waiting to heal us, waiting to change our lives, waiting to free us, and we miss out on it because we don’t take the time to open our eyes to see him?

God, help me to see you more clearly.