Ensign: This Is The World The Way Ends

All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isaiah 18:3

AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS 6 December 2013

     This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.

From the final lines of T. S. Eliot's poem “The Hollow Men” came the idea for today's devotion. It's been sitting in the back of my head all week, and I had to write this down before I forgot it. (Thanks for the paper Jim; I already had the pen!) For in light of the increased signs we're seeing – “signs of the times” to the followers of Jesus the Christ as Lord and Savior – of our world and the people in it; heck, of our neighborhood and the people in it, even our family and the people in it, going on a downward spiral it can feel sometimes so … FUTILE to even attempt to live a righteous, Godly life. That, my friends, is when we miss the point.

When Christianity first appeared on the historical stage it most definitely was not called “Christianity”. I will have to check on this, but as a rule we can say the term “Christianity” referring to the body of believers in and followers of Jesus the Christ as Lord and Savior was coined in the early fourth century after various convened councils. No, at first the followers of Jesus were thought to embody either a new school of thought in Judaism to your average Roman or a blasphemy that needed stamping out to your average Jew. So for several centuries you would have identified the likes of Peter, (later) Paul, John, and Timothy as followers of “the way”.

And for THAT, muchachos, there is Scriptural precedence. Go back to the passover Jesus had with His disciples in the upper room before He was arrested, tried, and crucified. (I was surprised to see this too.) In John 14:5-6 Thomas asks Jesus, AFTER He's already said He is going to return to God His Father, how can we do that too? Or in King James prose, “Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” Jesus' answer: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” I am the way – I don't point to the way – I am not setting the example to show you the way – I AM THE WAY.

And “The Way” Jesus speaks of – Himself – becomes the bearer of Saul's wrath (in Acts 9:2, “that if he found any of this way”), the way of salvation (Acts 17:9), the way of the Lord (Acts 18:25), that way spoken evil of in Ephesus (Acts 19:9), and the way there is no small stir about (Acts 19:23). It's not much different twenty centuries later, but as the world is feeling … well, is feeling like it's someplace we are only temporary residents of (and we are) and everyone and everything around us is perishing aging and decaying. Not the prettiest of pictures, I admit, but that's what pressure does. It exposes what's beneath us, what and who we really are. And our needs, our most basic needs.

I feel like I'm writing a college term paper, but hear me out please. We can't go about saying “Jesus is our Savior” or “Jesus is Lord” without doing what He says. (See Luke 6:46-49 and the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7 for more.) Although we can't be “good” enough to earn salvation – that's by the grace of God and nothing else – we can be preparing for the worst life can throw at us. And make no mistake, read your Bible (and even read the Bible of YOUR life, which is often the only one some people ever read) and you will find everyone struggles, everyone has moments they're weak and miserable and lonely, even those of us who follow The Way. But they're temporary, this world is temporary, and where you and I are is just the beginning.

     This is the world The Way ends

This is the world The Way ends

This is the world The Way ends

Not with a whimper but a bang!
David

P.S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with all of you in my address book, and I hope to be an encourager to action too! If you find that I'm not or you want me to get lost, just let me know -- thank you!

Thank You, Lord, that we can come to you in prayer and that You provide for all our needs, even when we don't know what they are. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence there and around the world.

Thank You, Lord, for everyone in leadership and service, both here and abroad. Thank You for the opportunities we have and the promise of new life through You. I pray that we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.