"For what do i have, if i don't have You, Jesus? what in this life could mean any more? You are my rock, You are my glory. You are the lifter of my head."

-Starfield ("Cry in My Heart")

The Spirit consistently reminds me that I need to look/hold on to eternal things.

A question I've found myself pondering a lot recently (not regarding the Rapture per se) : 

If the Lord were to tell me that I would draw my last breath and enter into His eternal presence momentarily, would I, in the last few seconds of my life, be excited, invigorated, and exhilarated to be a final heartbeat away from experiencing unspeakable joy in the presence of the Almighty God forevermore, or would I instead feel dismayed, disheartened, and frustrated that all my plans for my earthly life--finding a job, traveling the world, getting married, having kids, even carrying out God-honoring ministry labor--would in an instant be thwarted and seemingly wasted, and everything I've worked for (and prayed for) so faithfully and diligently to attain was "unfairly" and "abruptly" snatched away from me or never granted to me?

If there is any part of me that would feel the latter, I'd need to repent of idolatry. (<---link to a great article by John Piper on idolatry).

See, if Jesus called us to deny ourselves and take up our crosses daily to follow Him, and if we are to offer our very lives as worship, then naturally and reasonably, I should not feel the least bit slighted when not merely my visible blessings and accomplishments, but my very life is taken from me by God.

To qualify, I'm asked, "Peter, what are you driving at? Are you to abandon your current life and calling as a student, servant, son, brother, friend, living in irrational anxiety and paranoia about an imminent Rapture (that may or may not happen anytime soon, but I personally wish it would be soon), and just hope that your entry into heaven would be the quick solution to your not wanting to have to put up with a godless, idolatrous world?

By all means, no.

Jesus, urges His followers to be vigilant for His return, for it will happen at an hour we do not expect (Matthew 24-25); yes, we can't put a date on the Rapture (like Harold Camping tried to do), but who are we to say that it can't happen within the next month or two, or even in a few days, or even at all?

We often times would like to not only think, but believe so steadfastly, that Jesus couldn't possibly come back anytime soon--at least not until we each find our future soul mate, attain our dream job, or even (with the noblest intentions) spread the gospel to such and such parts of the world! We would be essentially then believing that we have the final say on when Jesus comes back in compliance with our own selfish ambitions and personal goals; we would be trying to override God's plans with our own plans.

What we should do is continue to be faithful in the things God has entrusted us with in the present, whether it may be work, school, relationships, church, etc. When Jesus describes His return in Matthew 24, in verses 40-41, we see that His followers are being taken up, or raptured, while they are going about their mundane business (working the field, grinding the mill); all the more reason to reinforce the message that we should still worship God throughout our "non-Sunday" part of the week through our faithfulness to our respective callings--student, farmer, accountant, lawyer, parent, etc.) <--(sidenote: a reminder for those of us who heard Pastor Tim Liu speak this past Friday at the Lock-In)

Even the fact that in these verses the believers were alongside nonbelievers right before their rapture, indicates that we are called to be in the world but not of the world, until Christ returns.

In light of all the things in our lives we are preoccupied with in this world, good or bad, I'm reminded by the Word that I am to not cling onto my earthly life with its hopes and dreams like this, but rather hold it like this as an offering to God, so when the time comes for me to literally give up my earthly life, it wouldn't feel like it is being pried away from me as I am kicking and screaming, but rather gently lifted off of my hands that were barely touching it to begin with.

P.S. If you want to discuss more detailed stuff with me relevant to this entry, like pretribulational vs. posttribulational view of the Rapture, Bible Prophecy, etc., feel free to ask. This entry was just a very brief overview of my thoughts on this issue. I can also try my best to refer you to helpful, legit resources

How people see me after I tell them I go to college.

How people see me after I tell them I go to UVa.

I used to think I was normal.

Maybe at one point in the past I was indeed normal.

Until I came to UVa...

Either I really have become weird or being at UVa has convinced me that I'm weird.

Regardless, the reason why I act the way I do sometimes is beyond me.

(These are some jokes I came across that made me chuckle)

A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales.

The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small.

The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale.

Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human, it was physically impossible.

The little girl said, "When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah."

The teacher asked, "What if Jonah went to hell?"

The little girl replied, "Then you ask him?

There was a nice lady, a minister's widow, who was a little old fashioned. She was planning a week's vacation in California at Skylake Yosemite campground (Bass Lake, to the uninitiated), but she wanted to make sure of the accommodations first. Uppermost in her mind were bathroom facilities, but she couldn't bring herself to write "toilet" in a letter. After considerable deliberation, she settled on "bathroom commode," but when she wrote that down, it still sounded too forward, so, after the first page of her letter, she referred to the bathroom commode as "BC." "Does the cabin where I will be staying have its own 'BC'? If not, where is the 'BC' located?" is what she actually wrote.

The campground owner took the first page of the letter and the lady's check and gave it to his secretary. He put the remainder of the letter on the desk of the senior member of his staff without noticing that the staffer would have no way of knowing what "BC" meant. Then the owner went off to town to run some errands.

The staff member came in after lunch, found the letter, and was baffled by the euphemism, so he showed the letter around to several counselors, but they couldn't decipher it either. The staff member's wife, who knew that the lady was the widow of a famous Baptist preacher, was sure that it must be a question about the local Baptist Church. "Of course," the first staffer exclaimed, "'BC' stands for 'Baptist Church.' " And he sat down and wrote:

Dear Madam,

I regret very much the delay in answering your letter, but I now take the pleasure in informing you that the BC is located nine miles north of the campground and is capable of seating 250 people at one time. I admit it is quite a distance away if you are in the habit of going regularly, but no doubt you will be pleased to know that a great number of people take their lunches along and make a day of it. They usually arrive early and stay late.

The last time my wife and I went was six years ago, and it was so crowded we had to stand up the whole time we were there. It may interest you to know that right now there is a supper planned to raise money to buy more seats. They are going to hold it in the basement of the 'BC.'

I would like to say that it pains me very much not to be able to go more regularly, but it is surely no lack of desire on my part. As we grow older, it seems to be more of an effort, particularly in cold weather. If you decide to come down to our campground, perhaps I could go with you the first time, sit with you, and introduce you to all the folks. Remember, this is a friendly community."