Life Just Goes On

National and world news this week was just a little intense.

Tyrannical Lyban dictator Muammar Qadafi was finally killed by the uprising countrymen he once claimed were "in love" with him. The people who love you typically do not spend months tracking you down and ultimately taking your life gruesomely, in my experience. His cause of death is being cited as a a gunshot wound to the head, but from the looks of the images taken after his death, the citizens who raided Tripoli did much more than just shoot him.

 The Occupy Wall Street movement continues to gain momentum--and opposition. Protesters are being detained and arrested for their disruptive behavior. I'm not saying I would go occupy if I had the time, but the ideals of this movement are definitely worth looking into. Now that I think of it, I'm going to be in New York next weekend. I hope I don't have to do any traveling on Wall Street . . .

The court case over Michael Jackson's death potentially at the hands of his well-meaning doctor, Conrad Murray, continues to rage. People need to remember that it is not Michael who is on trial here.

 Terrorist explosions sound off in both Mumbai and Oslo. No nation, no continent, no people group is safe from hatred. I have to admit I'm just a little nervous about traveling to Europe in a few months.

 Kidnapped hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were finally released from Iranian prison and reunited with their families. So wonderful!

 Not as legit as come of this other news, but 56 wild animals escaped into the woods near an Ohio community. A staggering 49 of them were killed, including 18 endangered Bengal tigers. That made me a bit angry. I understand that the goal is to get the residents out of danger as quickly as possible, but why didn't someone think to use extra tranquilizers on even one of more than a dozen endangered animals before they killed them?

Paul McCartney got married! Had to mention it.

And of course, more news will happen next week and the week after and the week after . . . because the world didn't end Friday! 

To me, it's bad enough that Harold Camping or anyone would instill fear in people by declaring an impending end to the world, but the very fact that any human being would be prideful, stubborn, and all-around idiotic enough to claim that they had any such foreknowledge is to abominable to think about!

The Bible states specifically in two of the gospels, "Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Matthew 24:34-26.

You see what it says there? Not even the Son. That's Jesus! Anyone who claims to know more than Jesus Christ is, among other things, a fool and a liar. Not the sort of person I am going to plan my future (or lack thereof) around.

I believe that it is possible to live as though every day might be your last, taking full advantage of this gift of life God has given us, without fearing a specific day at which our days will come to an end. While finding out when Armageddon will hit could be a motivating "live like you're dying" moment, I think that it's more likely that humans in our tendency for fear and hopelessness will instead begin to live as though we are already dead. Can't you see it? "Well, there's no need for me to clean up my life since I'll be dead come October 21st . . ." "There's no need for me to get married/ work harder at my job/ make a difference in my church/ make a difference in the world since there won't be a world after October 21st . . ."

The end of the world is in the hands of God, and so is this current, fleeting moment of my my life. All that is within my power is to make the most of the life He has given me.