
When I really committed everything in my life to Christ at 17, my parents were also new believers. It was the mid 1990's and the year 2000 loomed on the horizon. Many people were convinced that it would all end at the year 2000. Actually, even the secular world got in on it with the Y2K hysteria. Remember that? It was where the computers were supposed to not be able to transition to the 2000's and so everything would short circuit somehow and shut down. The world economy would collapse, stores would be closed, bank cards would be useless... etc. People stock piled food and water in their homes, money too. Then 2000 came and went without a hitch. I wasn't a part of that hysteria but I was being exposed to a more elaborate, well constructed end of the world scenario, which centered around the 2nd coming of Christ. Don't get me wrong, I believe that Jesus will return and I look forward to all of the wonderful promises of a new world, restored to it's pre-sin state. A world with no pain, no sickness, no war, where peace and love rule and the presence of God is our source of light and life. It sounds marvelous! I believe that is coming someday. But I want to look at what happens to people when their vision for the future is shortened to only include their lifetime or perhaps their child's life too. You see, when you really believe Jesus is coming very soon, it greatly affects a large number of people in the world who are meant to be the source of change, blessing and creativity.
"Where there is no vision, the people perish" Proverbs 29:18
I recently heard Mario Murillo tell about an instance that he was watching the faces of a crowd as a preacher told of Jesus' imminent return. The older people were said to shout joyfully while the younger people looked completely deflated. The differing response was due, he said, to their stage in life. The older you are, the more you look forward to a new pain-free body and to cease from laboring. Young people, with all of their dreams and plans ahead of them, see mainly the loss of their future. I realized in that instant, that although I wasn't at that particular meeting, I too was one of those young people who dreams had evaporated under that teaching. I had no vision for the future because it was ingrained in me from early on that this was truly the season of Christ's return. Many of you might scoff at me, but if you were young and impressionable, full of faith in God, and listening to many seasoned Christians tell over and over why it was happening in this generation, you might be affected too. The arguments were well constructed and very scriptural. So, what is the big deal if some people believe Jesus might return in their lifetime? I used to think, well, if He doesn't return in my lifetime then at least it will propel me to live in such a way that I will be focussed on the kingdom of God all the time. Sounds good right? I won't be getting distracted from serving God by chasing the dream of a big house, fancy car and big bank account. I thought that, but not anymore.

In my lifetime, it robbed me of the luxury of time. As a young person, I felt so driven by this fear of wasting time. I felt I had no time to waste on learning to play instruments, or learning languages or arts. Everything I did had to be about building God's kingdom. Unfortunately, my idea of God's kingdom was so narrow, it only extended to what happened inside the church or the homes of believers. It didn't include research labs where someone someday will find a cure for cancer, or music halls where orchestras play songs that inspire the hearts of men to soar. I didn't see the kingdom of God in a well run city, or in political arenas where laws are made to govern the land. So many vital areas of life were ignored because I didn't see the hand of God in them. But the Bible says clearlyeverything good comes from God. We are here to steward the earth and the wisdom of God for all of creation. That was the commission in the Garden of Eden. The men and women of God were meant to seek God for revelation about every area of life. We should be the most creative, productive, "green" people in all the planet. We should be the leaders in new music, new inventions, new business strategies etc. But, too many of us are simply existing. We are surviving each day, month, year and waiting... because that is what that belief promotes, a mentality of just surviving, not thriving and abounding.
I could get into all the things I have read about world history in homeschooling my children but it would be too long. (Yay homeschooling! Mom learned a lot too! lol!) Suffice it to say, many times people thought the end of the world was near and for good reason... one of the toppers was the black plague which killed close to a third of the population of the world in only a couple years. More recently, people who lived in the 30s, 40s and 50s through 2 world wars and the fear of nuclear destruction, must have been waiting for Christ's imminent return. I mention this because it was part of what enabled me to deconstruct the wall that blocked my view of the future. Christ may return tomorrow, but whenever He comes back, I think He would want me to be learning new things, building, growing and investing into a people I will only see by the eyes of faith. After all, some of them may be my great, great, great grandchildren, but they are all His children. I am asking God for fresh vision, not just for my future, but for the generations to come. I want to leave an inheritance that is lasting. I want to build things that will stand the test of time. I want to learn new things and grow. As I let go of the old ideas that robbed me of my future, I am extending my empty hands to God anticipating the new things He is about to reveal to me. School is coming up soon and I wonder at who I will have become a year from now and where I will be heading in life. Where ever it is, I know it will be good, I have seen glimpses of it from afar. :)