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Rev. Klockers: If the end is drawing near, what will you do with your time?

by Rev. WALTER KLOCKERS
| May 6, 2021 1:00 AM

Today I gazed upon words of wisdom that gave me reason to pause. Someone wrote:

“Imagine if our Christian view of the End Times was centered on preparing for Christ rather than an antichrist; centered on the mark of the lamb rather than the beast; centered on preparing for redeeming the earth rather than escaping it; centered on hope rather than fear.”

In these words, this person encapsulated a major portion of my expression of faith. I believe we have been put on this earth not entirely for our own self-interests and saving our hides from Hades.

I believe that I have been placed in the midst of God’s good creation to be an agent of selfless action. This is done not to earn salvation but as an expression of thanksgiving for all that God has done. It is an outward emphasis instead of being absorbed by an inward focus.

There is a good amount of evidence for doing just this, namely by the teachings of Jesus around the topic of servanthood.

From John 13:13-14 (New Revised Standard Version of the Bible): “You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

Also, from Matthew 14:19: “Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.”

So, Jesus instructed his disciples to wash feet and feed people.

Why? I believe part of the answer is in the hope that others would, in turn, do the same.

This message should stay the same no matter what time it is.

Walter is pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Moses Lake and has served as parish pastor for more than 30 years.