End Times

There is a sense among many Christians today that we are in the end times. My garden is in the end times. The tomato plants have turned brown and wilted. The cucumber leaves are yellowed and curling. No new fruit is evident. Only the flowers and weeds seem to thrive. The carrots have yet to push above the ground; perhaps they never will.

Yes, this is the end times for my garden. And yet, it is not. This is just the end times for this garden. Next year, God willing, I will have another garden. It won’t be exactly like this one; every year my garden is a little different. Every year, some plants flourish and others struggle. Heat waves, droughts, flooding, sudden cold spells – even if I plant all the same things, each year the garden grows in a unique way.

What looks like the end is actually just change. Change can be scary, but it is certainly nothing new. Change may indicate the end of some patterns that we love, but it has yet to indicate The End.

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. Matthew 24:6.

Since Jesus spoke those words, Rome has fallen, the Holy Roman Empire has fallen, the Ottoman Empire has fallen, Russia continues to increase and decrease. Atlas makers cannot keep up with the shifting African nations. Will America fall? History teaches us it is bound to happen at some point or another. But as Christians, we have a dual citizenship. Even if our nation changes radically, even if our nation falls, our status as citizens of God’s Kingdom will not change. His Empire will never fall.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:20.

Yes, our world is changing; so is my garden. My garden is dying; soon it will be dead. For a season. Since I have a longer concept of time than my plants, I know that this is just a time of rest. The garden will be back next year. It will be different, sure, maybe better, maybe not, but this is not the end of all gardening.

Imagine how much larger God’s concept of time is than ours. Eternity. What is 400 years? What is a thousand? What is four thousand? That’s about how long ago God called Abram. Has it been the blinking of an eye for Him? Treasuring every moment as a parent treasures their moments with their children; time seemingly passing so quickly. 

But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 2 Peter 3:8.

So, yes, my garden is ending. Soon I will pull up all the dead plants and let the ground rest for the winter. Soon, these plants will stop taking from the earth and return their nutrients to the soil. This change is not a cause for fear or distress. Perhaps it is a time to examine myself and see where I have put my confidence.

Am I trusting my efforts and my garden to feed me? Don’t I know that God alone can make a tomato grow? Am I trusting our government to eradicate evil in our society? Don’t I know that God alone can overcome evil? Don’t I know that Jesus Christ alone is my savior? 

Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright. Psalm 20:7-8.

If this is the end times, let us take the opportunity today to put our confidence in God and take pride only in His saving grace. If this is just a change of seasons, putting our confidence in God alone will prepare us to embrace God’s gifts in the new season.

May the peace of Christ be with you.

Betsy