End of the WORLD!

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live
Deuteronomy 30:19

Doomsday. Are you ready for the end of the world? As some predict its nearly upon us, striking on the 21st of December. I don't know what amazing plans you have to prepare for this coming day, but I can say I spent an afternoon mesmerized by a tv show that chronicles the lives of people preparing for the end of the world. These people have hundreds of cans of food in their basements and they have gas masks ready. Water supplies are close at hand and they know how to protect themselves if ailing conditions lead to hand to hand combat. These people have thought of all different scenarios and when doomsday hits, they plan to be prepared. I couldn't help but think this way of life was a little ridiculous, after all these "Doomsday Preppers" as they are called, are all preparing for a DIFFERENT catastrophic event that is going to end the world.

As I watched multiple episodes, my brother and I couldn't contain our laughter as we saw these people spend their whole lives preparing for an event that they had no proof would even happen. We were busy enough preparing for events we had planned and marked on our calendar, how could they spend their whole lives preparing for the what ifs?

Sure, I thought the whole idea was kind of crazy. But it made me think. Just recently, we've seen storms devastate the East coast and leave people without power for weeks. Earthquakes and tsunamis have left parts of the world in complete destruction. 9/11, wildfires, and illness hit in a seconds time. And for the people involved, the world stops.

There are events in our lives, that maybe don't end the world, but certainly that end the world as we know it. They are moments that usually catch us off guard and flip everything we know on it's head. And they are usually moments that leave us with only one option for the time being. That option is survival.

I used to worry and worry that moments like this would hit in my life. And I feared so much that I would not know what to do. I feared I couldn't survive. I, so much like the Doomsday Preppers, would try and come up with every possible scenario. Then after I thought of every worst case possible, I'd determine what I would do when faced with those horrible situations.

And, as life tends to do, I have had a few life shattering moments. Nothing abnormal or even that horrible, but to me, they tended to feel like the end of the world. And although I'd planned out every different way things could go, when the moments hit, I didn't consult my plans at all. When push came to shove, I just acted on instinct.

World changing moments have this way of causing the rest of the world around you to melt away. Suddenly, everything you were so concerned about ten seconds ago doesn't even matter. Suddenly those little problems you had seem like nothing. Standing in front of you, one little moment contains your whole world. If you've ever had one of these experiences, you'll recognize the survival mode that kicks in without you even knowing. Whatever it is, that you face, suddenly causes you to act with one choice. And that choice is life.

Whether its a big decision, bad news or the actual physical loss of your home or things, the choice is usually the same. When your world is coming to an end, you fight for life!

You're really sick? You take the medicine. Your powers out? You light candles. The stores are closed? You make do with soup. The money's low? You do with only the necessities. Yet in all these things, whatever else is shattering around you, you aim to uphold only one thing, life. Vanity, comfort, convenience, routine, these things fly out the door. They no longer matter.

So many times, these moments, bring out the most beautiful aspects of people. Those in need band together. They help each other and share more than they ever have before. Suddenly strangers are willing to give what they have to help others. Kindness and mercy flow from human hearts and these moments remind us of everything beautiful that God has created us to be.

But time passes and we forget. We forget to choose life above all else. Things creep in. We get back to beyond merely surviving. We want to look good again. We want to be known. We want comfort and possessions and we no longer have it in our hearts to share of ourselves. The world provides us with so many options besides life. And so we tend to choose them.

Consider for a second, what your life might look like if you let go of all those options. What if you went back to your survival mode, and whatever the scenario, chose life above all else? The thought might shatter the world as you know it, but I'm willing to bet you'd be willing to let go of the little petty things and problems that are currently capturing your attention. Forgiveness is suddenly more easy to give. Love is more easy to show and life becomes more abundantly what God meant it to be!

The world will end someday, maybe tomorrow, maybe on the 21st maybe hundreds of years from now, that's not really for me to say! But what if, instead of preparing for the worst case scenario like those Doomsday Preppers, we didn't wait for a life and death situation? What if we lived like every moment was life or death? There is a battle over your heart this very second. What if we lived realizing that the next moment we face, could be the one to change the world?