Kelly - Luke 21

In the midst of these passages on the scary and apocolyptic events of this world I came across some words that made me smile...

v. 34 "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly..."

To begin with, it's kinda funny to be warned about being weighed down in the middle of a passage of all the awful things in this world -- wars and famines and earthquakes (but don't be weighed down). These are certainly things that bring me down - and none of them are actually happening to me - I only see them on the news or read about them in the paper. But my heart aches.

Secondly, to equate being "weighed down with drunkenness" to being "weighed down by the worries of this life" seems a little strange - even from Jesus' perspective. Drunkenness and dissipation are wasteful and irresponsible. Being weighed down by my own small worries....is, I suppose, also wasteful and irresponsible. I have been given great joy and great promise. Being so self-absorbed that I become weighed down and unable to rejoice is a disservice to God.

These apocolyptic words are hard. But somehow I find them comforting today. Becuase the truth is that I see all that Christ talks about in this chapter - I see it in our world. And though it makes my heart ache and my stomach churn, it is comforting to know that Christ sees it, too. These things will happen, but they do not mean an end to the promise. This pain will strike, but it does not mean that God has forsaken us. Wars and rumors of wars and death and persecution will persist. But God will prevail - and we are promised a place at his side.