It’s Saturday. It’s hot in Texas.
These two things really don’t require pondering.
But when I think about what today is going to look like for me, the pondering begins.
When am I going to get outside and water the flower beds? That needs to be pretty soon.
How long am I going to do anything that requires me to be where there is no AC blowing on me? That depends on when I get started.
We’ll see.
My other ponderings this morning come from my reading of 2 Timothy chapter 3.
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days” (verse 1).
Are we living in the last days?
Yes. And we have been for almost 2000 years. I don’t think it’s nearly as mystical as some systems of thought make it out to be. Every generation since the first century has looked at the scriptures and looked at the world around them and seen “signs” of the end.
We’re not going to resolve this mystery in our generation and anyone who tells you otherwise probably has a book to sell. (Maybe the heat is making me cynical, but I don’t think so).
Verses 2-9 describe the things that will take place in the last days. Does it look like where we are right now?
Of course! But it also looks like every generation preceding us. So maybe, instead of looking for signs of the end, we focus on how we’re supposed to be responding to our current reality.
“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (verses 12-13).
Oh, great! We’re going to be persecuted for our faith!
It’s actually not our faith that leads to persecution. It’s how we live out our faith (live a godly life in Christ Jesus), and “persecution” is very much self-defined and often self-inflicted (by just doing dumb stuff).
Too often, what we call persecution is simply denial of the favored status that we think we deserve.
And, in my observation, most of our persecution (at least where I live) comes from within our own camp because we’re spending more time looking for enemies than we are looking for understanding.
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (verses 14-17).
One of the reasons I want to open my Bible every morning is that I’m in life training. I need to be equipped for good works. I need to be trained in righteousness (doing the right things and seeking the right outcomes for the right reasons because of right relationships). I need to be growing in wisdom. I need to be inspired by inspired words.
I don’t need proof texts for better arguments.
Those are my ponderings as the temperature has reached 82 on the way to 99. I better get that non AC stuff done!
Be amazing today, my friend.
