Fire or Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,  
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice, 
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

      With compliments to Robert Frost, the debate over how the world will end continues. All in all it seems that we are also seeing fairly convincing arguments watching reality on television. Looking at the way the earth is pitching and rolling and the capacity for man to self destruct and take the planet with him, leaves us to "ponder a new what the Almighty can do."
     I was talking with my brother who lives on a farm in eastern Arkansas near the Mississippi River. During our conversation Steve mentioned that the waters of the mighty Miss were near the top of the nearby levi. I offered a cautionary remark about his safety,  but he laughed. He said at least I am not living with mud slides, fire, rain, tsunamis, earthquake and oh yes, where radiation can get to me. In fact, he smugly said, "All things considered I feel rather save here in Arkansas as compared with you in California."  He has a point.
     After I hung up I began to wonder just how should I think about the recent events of 2011.  Some verses from Paul's letter to the Romans came to mind along with a recent word from our pastor, Gary Hargrave, "From Hopelessness Into Hope". If we are going to read the paper or watch videos on Youtube concerning, the earthquake, tsunami, nuclear melt down, freezing snow, jet streams filled with fall out, radioactive food, and future predictions of the same, and let us not forget that the middle east is streaming news of wars and threats of war, then we need to make sure we are not wrongly influenced by it all. Otherwise, with all of this happening we might join Robert Frost in consideration of the best way to go out.

Gas Masks

     However, if we look to some other influences we might see a different picture. In Romans the eighth chapter Paul tells us that the whole earth is in travail like a woman wanting to give birth (see also, Matt. 24 & John 16). This travail is not for the destruction of the earth or of man, as it might look.  Her joy comes and the pain is forgotten because she has given birth to a man. The answer for the earth is the birthing of God's sons. The travail of the earth is actually helping to create the answer for these problems by "groaning" for our redemption (Romans 8:18-25).
     Our hope and all creation's hope is in the redemption of the sons of God. This is not just to make heaven a more heavenly place, if that is possible, but to make the earth a more heavenly place. The war is over the manifestation of God's sons, the band of brothers and sisters of Christ.
     So when all this is happening around us, the radio, the television, the computer, even friends on FB, when they start trying to fill us with fear and foreboding, we do not let them influence us. Our influence is from what the word of God is telling us. "God is for us who (or what) can be against us"(Romans 8)? When we hear or see these things happening, Christ said in Luke 21:28, "look up"(even if we have to put on masks to block the radiation as we are looking up)"your redemption is coming near."