Randy Savage, Doonesbury, and Judgment Day

It happens
(by R.P.Edwards)

A broken clock
Is exactly right
Two times
Every day
So with the words
Think it not absurd
When a pearl comes with
the bray

Edgar C. Whisenant, (deceased) had a modicum of notoriety twenty three years ago when he pushed the idea (hard!) that the Rapture of the Church would take place in 1988.  The Rapture--a word not found in scripture, but used to describe the event when believers, living and dead, rise to meet Jesus in the air--marks the point (depending on your eschatological view) when things will get terribly bad on earth, culminating with the Lord’s return to set things in order.  I remember, vaguely, the message of Mr. Whisenant, but, for the reasons given in--of all places--the Doonesbury Cartoon (yesterday and today) I didn’t give the prediction much weight.  And then, as today, the “certainty” proved to be…without substance.

Enter Randy Savage, aka The Macho Man.  I remember, nearly three decades ago, watching the antics of this pro-wrestler as he made his rounds in the WWF.  Well, a couple days back he lost his final match.  All the details aren’t in, but be it a heart attack, or the unforgiving tree (or a combination), Randy Savage is dead.

I’ll not belabor the point, but death, for all of us…is coming.  We can ignore it; block it out of our minds; pretend it will make an exception in our case; but…it is nearer today than yesterday.  And though many will scoff (perhaps rightly so) at the misplaced zeal of the “prophet,” there will be, for each of us, an ending of this life, and an entering into another.  Oh, our demise may not come with an apocalypse, but the end result will be the same…a face to face encounter with the God of the Universe.  And may I, in this thoughtful moment, point as many as will, to the “Of first importance” link in the upper right.

Thanks to the Doonesbury site for the comic Doonesbury

And, thanks to Bible Gateway for scriptural assistance.  Here’s a reference for the “rapture” Rapture and  The Judgment

****

It's all gonna burn

It’s all gonna burn
(by R.P.Edwards)

“It’s all gonna burn”
The fatalist phrase
Reflecting reflections
On ending…of days
That time in the future
The certain
The stop
When all fleshly fancies
Will sizzle…and pop
Yes, palaces, proud 

To the box on the street
The pompous and poor
Their atoms will meet
With keepsakes
And curtains
And four oh one K’s
All gone in an instant
In sulfurous waves
Yes
It’s all gonna burn
What you value…on earth
So cling to the thing
That gives heaven…it’s worth

“It’s all gonna burn.” A simple, almost thoughtless (though oceans deep) response.  “It’s all gonna burn.” Little more than a quip when spoken, yet laden large with tethers and tendrils that reach…into eternity.

I was sharing some small talk with my second oldest.  He, who has long had dreams of world travel and wanderings; as the end of his “anchored to home” education is finally approaching we delved a bit into his particular and peculiar…past.  You see, he was the child who would take things apart and, on many occasions…break them.  He, in the discourse, brought up the word “heirlooms” --as in being destroyed--and then I, as we continued to walk and talk, said the phrase.

Of late I’ve been quite occupied with the doings of my daily existence; the job; the things we use and rely on; the acquiring, and fixing, and finding; the much “stuff” that we stuff our lives with.  But, if I’ll pause for just a moment; pause and reflect upon that which lives within; upon that which is born from above because of the gift--the received gift of a Father’s love, and a Son’s substitution--well, then I remember that so many of the tangibles that we put so much value in here, are, in the light of forever…worthless.

You see, we really are more than just an evolutionary chance-baby.  We, each one of us, are so much more than the many gatherings of years.  And indeed, each one of us has a reserved invitation and place in the open arms of the eternal God. And, frankly, in the coming maelstrom…that’s the only safe place to be.  For, in the eventual “today,” everything we see with our natural eyes…will be no more.  Yes, “it’s all gonna burn,” but you, the real you; you don’t have to.  So, before your next project, or purchase, or all consuming pursuit, you just might want to take inventory…of your soul.  And, if it is found lacking in the eternal, fireproof stuff, you might want to check out the “link” on the side.  The one titled, “Of first importance.”

****

One hundred years from now

 

 

In Perspective
(by R.P.Edwards)

A vapor
A wisp
A moment…then gone
Troubles
And triumphs
Weeping
And song
All of life’s doings
And dying
And dance
All for the moment
All…for the chance
Yes
All that we live for
And strive for
And fear
All of our trappings
That add to us…here
All that we go through
The pleasure
The pain
The constant bombardment
Perpetual drain
Yes
All that we are
And all that we’ve been
Will all seem…as nothing
When we hear… “Come in.”

“It won’t matter…one hundred years from now.”  An offhand remark I sometimes say after a minor session of grousing about this or that.  It’s a step back, a reality check, a putting in perspective.  In other words; of all the many “important” little details that consume us, the most important detail--where we spend eternity--trumps…all.  And, for the Christian, there is solace in the knowledge that arms of love await us at the end of this, sometimes rugged, tragic, tear-filled, road.  Something to consider.  For, "one hundred years from now" ...is surely coming.

That’s what I think.  How about you?  Click comments below…and say.