THE END OF THE WORLD

This month, October, will mark my 77th year on this earth. It has been an amazing time to be alive. So much has been discovered. Diseases have been conquered, communications have been perfected to such a degree that one can speak in real time across the world at will. Lifetimes have been extended and improved. And the most amazing of all is that we have only just begun to discover. The next 77 years will probably be even more amazing. It boggles my mind.

As I write this, I recall events from my life. As a very young child I remember sitting in church with my mother and listening to the preacher scare me to death with his predictions of the “end of the world.” He wasn’t the only one with such grim predictions. There were people walking on the street with signs claiming the world was coming to an end.  A Stanford professor wrote a book declaring that the world was overpopulated and could not sustain itself. He called for ZPG, zero population growth. That was about forty years ago. He stated unequivocally that the world would end in ten years. Didn’t happen. Today, those predictions continue. Just last September 23, according to a so-called Christian numerologist, our world would collide with an alien planet and we would be destroyed. Oops, that didn’t happen either. Oh well, back to the drawing board and the calendars.

The point of all this is that the world ends every day for some. Several people, whose only crime was to attend an outdoor concert in Las Vegas, saw their world come to an end when a nut case with automatic weapons opened fire on them. In reality all of us will face the end of our world eventually. Some sooner than others. Christians, like me and most of you, know that this world is not our home, we are just passing through. So, when this world ends, a new and better world awaits. But this world will end for all of us.

The next point of this piece is a suggestion. People in my age group are much closer to the end of our earthly lives than to the beginning. So then my suggestion is this. If you aren’t happy, get happy. If you aren’t loved, find someone to love you. If you don’t love, find someone to love. We only get one shot at this. If you want to travel, travel. If you don’t like the weather where you live, move to where you would be more comfortable. Don’t be the one sitting in his rocker saying “well I could have, or I should have.”

If you are lucky enough like me to have a loving life partner, ask that partner, are we where we are supposed to be and are we doing what we are supposed to be doing? Is there anything else that would make us happier and more fulfilled? If our world came to an end today, would we leave this world happy and satisfied? I believe these are fair questions.

A number of my very close relatives and friends have recently been given some tough news by their doctors. They have had diagnoses of challenging diseases. The good news is that there are new and vastly improved remedies and even some cures available. While the diagnosis is negative, the possibilities of cure are very positive. We are all hopeful. As they read this they know we are with them in spirit and prayer.

This is not, and has never pretended to be, a sermon or a church service. To me it is just common sense. None of us know when our world will end. For me and mine, we plan to live as if the end is truly at hand. We plan to live and love until we cannot any longer and we hope the same for you.

Ron Scarbro