Yeah, what he said.
This is a time for polarization. You may recall that as Jesus came closer to His final Passover, He began saying and doing things that polarized His audience. His teaching about the Bread of Life (John 6) was pointedly aimed at driving away those who refused to embrace the otherworldly nature of His message.
On the one hand, there are just a few examples where Jesus struggled with someone to help them grasp the otherworldly nature of parables. He did try to help His chosen disciples, and once invested some extra time with Nicodemas. These were people whose faith already had captured them, but their flesh was resisting. Their hearts needed a boost to move farther. On the other hand, Jesus had no problem with burning bridges with those who had no faith. He provoked the Pharisees quite often.
Sometimes you just know that the Lord is telling you the day of polarization has arrived. Those of you who know something about me will understand when I say that I have come to another of those thresholds in my ministry. I’ve been involved in some outreach here and there, and some of those efforts are finished. Whatever good I might have been able to do in those efforts is done. It’s not a matter of being tired, but that the reaction in those places serves to signal it’s over. Let there be some distance between us.
Let me reiterate the message on Catacomb Resident blog in another way: The Lord’s wrath is falling on the whole world. My convictions tell me that within twenty years, civilization will be destroyed by natural catastrophes. Most of the human population of this planet will die. Everything mankind has sought to build will be wiped away. Most of what humans do right now is utterly futile. It is highly unlikely that I will survive. My own cross is out there in front of me somewhere nearby.
That does not excuse me from the task of continuing to share the message. All it does is help me decide where to share it, and how to share it. Where I perceive hearts are closed, because people keep striving after the bread of the stomach, I will move away from them. Where I encounter folks able to embrace the message, even as they struggle, I’ll be glad to invest more of the resources and energy I have left.
I’m not telling anyone else how to engage their ministry audiences. This is my own personal convictions at work. If you want me involved, you’ll need to express an understanding of this move. This otherworldly orientation must be a part of the main purpose and message. It’s time to hammer home the Bread of Life parable.
