The Internet makes it possible today for us to have information at our finger tips. We have the ability to look up anything on just about everything. Search engines and social media gather information about us with every click of a mouse, and then use that information to dazzle in front of our eyes things custom designed to catch our attention and pull us in.
So it is not surprising then that those who want to play on our fears take advantage. Conspiracy theories about secret organizations, government plots, fundamental transformations and takeovers; speculations about the economy and dollar both in the U.S. and in Europe; Doomsday Preppers using science, cosmic occurrences, and scripture to convince anyone who will listen that the world is about to end; and Rapture Preachers frothing at the mouth that these are the last of the last days and a politically correct culture that seems to be upside down from anything we recognized growing up all combine to send us into a tail spin. What should we believe? I’m sure we would find an element of truth in all of them, so how do we prepare?
A very wise Martin Luther once said “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
What does this advice mean for us, and how can we put it to use?
None of us are guaranteed tomorrow here on this earth. We’re not even guaranteed the next breath we take. The world could come to an end globally, continentally, or individually for any of us, and at any moment. Knowing that, what would you change about today if you could? Anything? Nothing? With a heart for God and living a life focused on Him, Martin Luther chose nothing. He would still go out and plant his apple tree. By saying he did nothing, I’m not implying he sat on a mountain top and waited for our Lord’s return, but rather he continued the work he started and had in mind to do. So we, too, should be encouraged by that to keep our eyes always on the Lord, work in His kingdom (which is eternal), and live a life trusting in Him.
“While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.” Psalms 146:2
“How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.” Daniel 4:3
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. ” Matthew 6:33-34
Alabastersky 