Hyperbole It Is Not!

Luke 21:25-26, “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.”

There are certain passages in scripture that a great many souls assume are merely exaggerated for effect. They skim through the Word, happen upon something their physical mind cannot compute, comprehend or come to terms with and with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders go on to the next passage, hopefully the one about all having sinned and fallen short, or the other one about not judging lest you likewise be judged. Without a second thought or a hint of desire to peer deeper, to press in and go beyond the surface of words written upon a page many have lost the will, desire or motivation to take a second and meditate on a difficult to understand scripture.

If it is not readily understood during the first read-through, then it’s either symbolic, hyperbolic, or beyond the scope of human understanding.

Especially within the context of the end times, and the prophecies contained in the Bible concerning this most turbulent season, too few today take the Word of God at face value, believe it as it is written, prepare their hearts, cement their relationships with the heavenly Father, and possess the certitude that come what may they are safe under the shadow of His wings. It’s allot less taxing to shrug our shoulders, or roll our eyes and think to ourselves that such things couldn’t really happen in our day and age, than to fall to our knees in repentance, to mature in our faith, and to know the peace that can only be found in an intimate relationship with Christ.

Unless you’ve been totally removed from all the trappings of our modern era this past week it is inevitable that either tangentially or in great depth you’ve heard about what is happening in Japan. It would seem the earthquake was just the beginning of a chain reaction that has as yet not abated. Each time I check the news, something new is happening, more worrisome than the previous update, from the tsunami, to the first nuclear reactor fire, then the second, and so on.

If you’ve ever wondered whether the words of Jesus in the gospel according to Luke were exaggeration or hyperbole, recent events ought to crystalize the reality that they are not.

Jesus was never one to exaggerate, He was never one to make a mountain out of a molehill as the saying goes, and if Jesus said that men’s hearts will be failing them for fear and the expectation of those things which are coming upon the earth, then it will most assuredly come to pass.

Other than praying for the people of Japan, there is one thing we as individuals who have not been directly affected by these disasters must take away from all this. Prepared as we might be, or think ourselves to be for any eventuality, for any calamity, for any cataclysm or natural disaster, there will come a point wherein if we trust in our preparedness and not God, our hearts will likewise fail us for fear.

There is nothing wrong in being prepared. There is nothing wrong in having some food, water, and medical supplies set aside for any eventuality, but if these things which we’ve amassed become a crutch, if we think we can replace true faith in God with a bomb shelter and some ready to eat meals, then we are deceiving ourselves, and are in the words of Paul the Apostle ‘of all men most pitiable.’

I wish I could say we’ve seen the worst of it, but you and I both know this is just the beginning. We must for the sake of our sanity, do away with the ‘it could never happen here, it could never happen to us’ mentality, because if God is anything He is righteous and just, and this just and righteous God judges without partiality.

It is time to cut away any and all things that weigh us down, that impede our progress, and that hinder our walk, it is time to gird up the loins of our minds, to be sober and vigilant and walk with confidence the narrow path of faith, because God will no longer terry, and what has been happening throughout the world in recent weeks is proof positive of this.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.