Saturday Mornings.

5/21/11 - A Saturday

As a college student, Saturday mornings are something that I look forward to all week! 

My saturday is my time to relax, kick back, and do all the leisurely things that I couldn't get done during my always crazy busy week. Saturdays are the best  - filled with eating cereal on the couch, watching morning cartoons, and staying in PJ's until 10 o'clock! Or if you're like me, mixing it up every now and then, and occasionally going garage sale hopping to fill your house with even more stuff...but it doesn't matter, because you got it for the BEST deal, right?! believe me, i've used that excuse WAY too much! 

[Well, most saturdays are like that...unless you're like me and its "finals time." Now, your "once coveted and relaxing saturday" is filled...or wait, let me rephrase that, should be filled...with hours and hours of studying! but thats besides the point ]

Naturally, waking up this morning felt amazing, as it does every saturday, until I remembered today's date...May 21, 2011, and remembered, "oh thats right, its supposed to be THE END OF THE WORLD today." So I went down stairs and got my morning cup of coffee....and that was that, no big deal.

Living near the epicenter of the "Family Radio" base station, I've definitely heard the hype surrounding the "Judgement Day" prophesies and seen the numerous billboards all over stating, "Jugement Day - May 21, 2011." 

Do I believe it? 

Well, I'll let you sit on that question a little longer; however, I DO believe that we should always be ready and preparing for Judgement Day.

But really now...does the Bible -which happens to be the source that the Family Radio and Harold Camping are basing their predictions off - really say that TODAY Is the end of the world?

Read for yourself:

Matthew 24: 42&36

(42)“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.

(43)Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into.

(44)You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when LEAST expected."

...(36)“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows."

Therefore, how could we try and make "educated guesses" about when the Lord will return, if Jesus plainly said himself, "ONLY the Father knows," and that it will happen when we least expect it.  

 Here's what I think: "Treat everyday like its your last. Each day is a gift and shouldn't be taken lightly." - and you can quote me on that.

The people who actually believe that today is/was their last day on earth (depending on what time of day the rapture was supposed to happen) were so passionate about their claim that they were willing to broadcast it on the Radio, Billboards, and made it go viral on the internet! 

If you type "5 21 11 judgement day" into Google, about 10,500,000 results pop up consisting of youtube videos, Talk radio web-castings, blogs, CBS news articles, personal testimonies, and well you get the picture...but do you see what I mean? 

People have sold their personal belongings, homes, made amends with individuals they have held grudges on or were angry with, took that vacation they always wanted, made an effort to cross off everything on their "bucket list," and so much more (not to mention tell EVERYONE they knew that the end of the world was coming) just to prepare to prepare for the 21st day of May in the year 2011. 

Well...what If we really did know when the last day on this earth was going to happen.

What if we had time to prepare?

..I don't know about you, but I might live my last 6 months like that too!

If every person lived each day as if they weren't going to be here tomorrow, how many more passionate and productive people would we have on this earth?  - Would we have less people in this world saying, "I wish i would have...[fill in the blank here]..."  Would we have more world changers? Would there be more people making a conscious effort to fulfill their dreams and ambitions? 

It gets me to think, am I doing everything I possibly can to make the most out of everyday? As a Christian, am I living out my faith as a good example of Christ? Making sure that everyone I come in contact with knows of His gospel of grace and love?

 In the Bible, after Jesus ascended into Heaven, the disciples thought that Jesus was only going to be gone for a little while! They made it their passion and life's goal to tell EVERYONE they knew about Jesus. About how God sent His Son Jesus, to this earth to die on the cross for their sins because He loved them so much, so that they too could have a personal relationship with the God of the universe, and could spend eternity in heaven with Him! These disciples lived like these modern day believers did, who thought that today was the end of the world - telling everyone they knew to prepare and to live as if they were ready! 

Now, am I going to sell all my belongings and live in a motor home for the rest of my life?...No. 

But, I CAN do my best to make a difference. To impact my own little world, starting with making the most out of every opportunity. 

Today really got me to think...[hence the blog ;) ]...about not letting the days simply waste away, but to be productive and passionate about my goals and living out what I believe. Its good to refocus, don't you think? 

I've said it before and i'll say it again....but this time I'll phrase it as a question.

"What if we treated everyday like it was our last? What if each day was treated like a gift...would we take them as lightly?"

What if....