WHEN TRUTH GONE ASTRAY

by Earlie Doriman

I read last month an article about a man in the US who was very serious proclaiming that the world would end on May 21 2011. Yes, that is tomorrow. Too quick, too soon. The past few days, several other news about that same man, kept bugging pages on the internet, and surprisingly with a throng of supporters distributing leaflets and engaging the press for swift interviews. Of course, most people react differently about it, whilst others are just keeping their silence and opinion to themselves. Few are merely smiling and observing; waiting for the turn of events and laugh out loud to those who became so affected or annoyed by the publicity.

With a prompt of mockery, some said whoever believes in it could go and leave their wealth to charity. Even the atheists, are so enterprising to set up business for Christians who believed they are selected to go to heaven, to just leave their pets to their care. On the other hand, the ‘who cares’ attitude spared their minds from this baloney, haven’t they? Or is this overwhelmingly unreasonable?

I am a Christian, not a very religious one, but I live a life of faith about God’s promise of salvation. I am not so upright to declare my assurance that God has made a place for me or my family in heaven; but we do pray that our deeds are pleasing to Him and our sins pardoned. God understands that imperfect nature because he made us such. To know that people proclaim hearsays about the end of the world is both bothering and religiously offensive. Are they truly Christians who care about their faith and others or just revolting psychics to spoil the Christian faithful and believers?

Yet, I accept as true that there is really an end to this world or the Day of Judgment, but to know specifically the date and the time that it is coming is beyond this humanity to know. The Gospels of Mark and Matthew are simple to tell us that it is the Father alone who knows the exact moment; neither Jesus nor the angels in heaven are there to know it.  If it is on May 21, 2011 or the day after, then nobody knows. Since we do not know, our task is to prepare all the time.

By saying that, as believers of the Christian faith, we are expected to live that preparation everyday. Our values and our relationships with other people, anything right that we do, and everything that we are going to do shall all be in the course of justice and love. That is the preparation that I believe.