Responding to Jesus: Faith for Fearful Times

When will the end of the age come? Disciples down through the ages have asked this question, debated it, argued about it, even divided over it. In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus intentionally leaves His disciples feeling tremendous tension between knowing tell-tale signs of the end, without knowing its exact timing: "But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand." (Mark 13:23 -NKJV) "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." (Matthew 24:27 –NKJV) Why the tension? Could it be that to have precise knowledge of the future would relieve us of our responsibility to waitand watchand witnessas our Lord commands? The call to wait, watch and witness necessitates faith; faith in our Lord's sovereign control, faith in His tenderness toward His own, and faith in His ultimate victory over hell's tight-yet-temporary grasp on God's world and its people. As Jesus' first disciples learned, faith displaces fear and fuels a hopeful mindset no matter what is happening around us.