“Now, when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Christians see things differently from the rest of the world. We are completely backwards to the way the world wants to do things. There are tons of things that Jesus teaches that just seem off – love your enemy, do good to those that persecute you. These all just seem the complete opposite of the way the world expects things to go. And we get another one of those backwards things today When the world is ending and crashing down, straighten up and raise your heads.
Just think about that for a moment. As the tragedies come, as wreck and ruin are unleashed, as everything falls apart, that is when you lift up your head. Why? Your redemption is coming. Christ Jesus is coming. While the world sees terror and destruction, you are in Christ, you are baptized, and so you just see a reminder that Christ Jesus your Lord is coming for you.
It’s not really that we are backwards from the world – it’s that we learn to see everything in the world through Christ. Of course we are to love our enemies, for they aren’t really enemies – they are people for whom Christ Jesus died to save. Of course we pray for those who persecute us – the tragedy isn’t that we are being persecuted but rather that they don’t know their Savior and are hounded by Satan so much so that they would persecute people. Even the “end” is really Christ coming to redeem us and bring forth the New Heavens and the New Earth. We see all things through Christ.
Now, of course, sin and Satan and even our own sinful flesh try to distract us, try to make us think and act and see things in that typical dog eat dog, me first worldly way. But remember who you are. You are a baptized and redeemed child of God. Christ Jesus has won forgiveness for you and constantly gives this forgiveness to you in His Word and in His Supper, so that you would always remember who you are in Him, that your eyes would be focused upon Him. So that you would see all things in the world, even the end of the world, through Him, and thus have confidence and boldness in Christ come what may. We see everything through Christ Jesus.
