Discerning the Signs but Looking for the Lord
I do listen. As I get older, I forget more easily, but I do listen to people’s concerns. In the last several years, a number of devoted Christians have asked me some form of the following question: “Are we close to the return of Jesus Christ?” As with any Biblical teaching, we must be careful with this subject. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus said, “Of that day and hour knoweth no man.” Later, in Acts 1:7, He added, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons.” Paul wrote in I Thesssalonians 5:2 that “the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” Thus, date-setting defies God’s Word and dishonors our Savior. However, in Matthew 16:3, Jesus pointedly asks, “Can ye not discern the signs of the times?” We do not know and cannot know the exact time of Jesus’ Second Coming and the resulting period of the Tribulation, but we are told to seriously study the signs found in Scripture. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
A twelfth telltale of the portended end is an unusual elevation of the individual. II Timothy 3:1-5 states “that in the last days people “shall be lovers of their own selves… boasters, proud…heady [headstrong]…high-minded [in the negative sense of being conceited].” Right away, we recognize that even Christians struggle with this core issue of pride. Proverbs 16:18 is still familiar (in shortened form) in our culture: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Pride is antithetical to Christianity, for we cannot pridefully admit to our need for a Savior.
It is only recently, however, that the above godless characteristics have been championed and celebrated. The modern self-esteem movement, misguided and ultimately destructive, has occurred in the last thirty years or so. Rather than establish standards based on excellence, achievement, and positive character traits, we have been taught that we need to feel good about ourselves. I remember reading a survey of about 800,000 American students who ranked themselves in various categories. In getting along with others, not one student placed himself below average! In fact, 90% classified themselves in the top 10%. Even worse, 50% put themselves in the top 1%. Apparently, self-esteem is not a problem for most people, as the Bible affirms. Such an inflated view of self will only increase in the future.
Christianity offers the real solution to this narcissistic self-absorption. We are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) and recreated in the image of God the Son, Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 5:17; Romans 8:29). If we humble ourselves, He will lift us up (I Peter 5:6). Our self-worth will then be found in our unchanging Savior (Hebrews 13:8), now and forever.