March 26 - 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

March 26 - 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

If I have learned anything from the explosion of social media in the last twenty years, it is that we are easily alarmed and will jump on a bandwagon with great passion and loud vocalizations.  End of the world predictions happen all the time and not just within the religious communities.  There are scientists (?) who threaten us with the possibility of cataclysmic events, meteorologists talk about end of the world storms, biologists predict civilization-ending viruses.  Everyone wants to get in on talk of the end of the world.

In the seventies, a series of films were released which frightened every person who saw them. If you didn't become a Christian, apparently you were headed for the guillotine.  In the nineties, Tim LaHaye’s “Left Behind” series scared another generation with its horrendous descriptions of what would occur to those who hadn't been caught up in the rapture.

Paul reminds us to not be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed.  Don’t let your fears rule you and do not let fear of the unknown cause you to react.  It seems like a basic rule for life, but we are more willing to allow outsiders control our emotions than we do God.

God does not encourage fear, instead he brings peace.