5-6 One day people were standing around talking about the Temple, remarking how beautiful it was, the splendor of its stonework and memorial gifts. Jesus said, “All this you’re admiring so much—the time is coming when every stone in that building will end up in a heap of rubble.”
7 They asked him, “Teacher, when is this going to happen? What clue will we get that it’s about to take place?”
8-9 He said, “Watch out for the doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities claiming, ‘I’m the One,’ or, ‘The end is near.’ Don’t fall for any of that. When you hear of wars and uprisings, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history and no sign of the end.”
10-11 He went on, “Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Huge earthquakes will occur in various places. There will be famines. You’ll think at times that the very sky is falling.
12-15 “But before any of this happens, they’ll arrest you, hunt you down, and drag you to court and jail. It will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone at your throat because you carry my name. You’ll end up on the witness stand, called to testify. Make up your mind right now not to worry about it. I’ll give you the words and wisdom that will reduce all your accusers to stammers and stutters.
16-19 “You’ll even be turned in by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. Some of you will be killed. There’s no telling who will hate you because of me. Even so, every detail of your body and soul—even the hairs of your head!—is in my care; nothing of you will be lost. Staying with it—that’s what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry; you’ll be saved.
The American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald once said:
“The test of first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them better.”
This certainly is the mark of faith which often has to hope against hope and act in love in spite of all the hate. This is what this text is all about.
It is about the faith which is sure of what it hopes for and certain of what it cannot see.
It is about the love which dares to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things,
endure all things.
It is about being witness to the truth in the face of evil and daring to believe that not a hair on our heads will perish.
It is not the evil which shall prevail; it is faith in the goodness of God which will prevail!
Indeed, not a hair will perish of what God wants to preserve!
“Christ risen from the dead shows that
there is nothing rebellious creation
can do to cause something to perish
that God wants to preserve.”
Anonymous
Prayer thought for the week: “Lord, help me to hang on when all seems hopeless. Help me to trust Your endless love when all seems lost. Amen”
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