Should We Leave Behind “Left Behind”?

                                                                                                                                    8/2014

Sharon: I still don’t really get Revelation…JON!!!!!!!!!!

Jon: 

                                          Should We Leave Behind “Left Behind”?

Upon watching a trailer for the upcoming movie release, “Left Behind,” I am once again given occasion to reflect upon the end times.  Many people are fascinated with the end times and the book of Revelation, as shown by the immense popularity of the “Left Behind” book series.  The book of Revelation makes for exciting reading, great speculation, the subject of many a youth group Bible study (youth always want to study Revelation), and now, another occasion for Nicolas Cage to watch stuff blow up.

                Spoiler alert!!!!  The book, “Left Behind” by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins tells the story of the Rapture, in which those who are believers in Christ vanish, leaving everything (including their clothes) behind.  As a side note, I seriously considered laying clothes out on the streets of the town where I lived on the day recently predicted by Harold Camping as “the end of the world,” but decided against it.  Those who are “left behind” then are faced with a period known as the Great Tribulation, in which God unleashes His fury upon the earth in ways described in the book of Revelation, and in which those who come to know Christ after the Rapture face tremendous persecution.  If the upcoming movie is similar to the previous release of a movie by that title, starring Kirk Cameron, then it will have the same general idea as the book.

                Is this what the book of Revelation is all about?  Are we to look at Revelation and try to figure out how everything described in it is going to unfold in the future?  Should we place the Left Behind series in close proximity on our shelves to the Bibles, only separated from Scripture by Oswald Chambers and a couple of Francis Chan books? 

                One major problem with putting a lot of stock in the “Left Behind” interpretation of Revelation is that a lot of people (including a lot of really smart people) have a different interpretation of Revelation.  And other people have a different interpretation of Revelation from that.  And others have a different interpretation from that.  And so on.  Some tend toward one extreme (a completely literal understanding of everything in Revelation).  Others tend toward the other extreme (everything in Revelation is metaphorical or even mythical).  And everything in between.  Revelation is not an easily understood book.

                So, what do I think of Revelation?  As someone who has spent much time in academic Biblical studies, and will continue to do so, I am very interested in understanding the cultural context of the book of Revelation, the various interpretations posed by scholars, the nuances of the original Greek language and so forth.  However, for the purpose of this blog I pose this simple question: what if we focused more on what we do know than on what we do not know?  We can spend a lot of time speculating on what is meant by all the various symbols and events we read about in Revelation.  We can also get pretty fired up about other peoples’ interpretations of these symbols and events.   

                So, here’s what I think I know for sure about Revelation:

1)      God wins!

Ultimately, God will defeat His enemies and the enemies of His people.  The devil and his minions are going to get a supreme butt-whooping!  For those first reading of hearing the book of Revelation, this message was probably applied largely to the defeat of the Roman Empire.  But I think we can safely extend the context to say simply that God is going to defeat evil in the end.  Hallelujah!

2)      Live ready! 

One thing the “Left Behind” series conveys (largely through fear) is the need to be ready.  But I don’t think the need for readiness is merely the result of being afraid to miss out on the Rapture.  The fact of the matter is, we should all be ready in the sense that none of us is guaranteed to live through the next day (or even hour!).  If we all knew the appointed time of our death, then we would tend to think that it wouldn’t really matter how we live our lives, as long as we turn to God in the final stages of our life.  But that’s not the way it works; rather, we don’t know when that time will come for us, so we need to live our lives in complete devotion to God and seek to follow Christ all the days of our lives.  Additionally, we can allow God to use us for the glory of His kingdom with our time here on earth.  Getting back to the end times, regardless of how it will all play out in the end, we need to ready in the same sense that we should always be ready.  Jesus commands this sort of readiness (Matthew 24-25) for His followers, and Revelation again calls us to the already-present need to be ready.  Whether we die or Jesus comes back first, will we be found faithful? 

3)      His children will join Him!  

The result of whatever events unfold in the end times, the children of God will have a happy ending.  Aside from Revelation, there are ample Scripture passages that speak of the inheritance awaiting those who have been adopted as the children of God (Romans 8:15-17; Ephesians 1:7-14; Philippians 3:20-4:1, just to name a few).  Whether we will float up to the sky to join Jesus, vanish out of thin air, participate in some epic-Lord-of-the-Rings-like battle with the forces of evil, experience death, or any other possibility, we can be confident that the hope of eternity in God’s presence lies before us.  And we will join the multitudes in worship of our Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, and Finisher!      

                This is not to say that I think it pointless to study the book of Revelation, and I imagine that I will continue to do a great deal of study in Revelation myself.  However, as we do, and as various discussions emerge as a result of the latest “Left Behind” movie, perhaps these few points can give us a place to start (or a place to finish, haha, get it…finish…Bible pun!).    

                                                          ~Jon Bryant

Understanding Our Loss: The not-so-simple-simple-question

                                                                                                                                              7/24/14
                                  
 A common question one may be asked at a social gathering with a mix of friends or simply while in the grocery line is "Do you have any children?"  I have asked this question of people SO many times myself.  It's a way to start a conversation, a way to get to know more about someone, a regular social question.  I always thought it was a simple question, one that is easy for anyone to answer; yet now, I have come to realize that for many people, this is anything but a simple question!

My husband and I discovered in December 2013 that I was with child!  We saw the heartbeat on the ultrasound and there was no doubt in our hearts that a real life was created within me!  About two months later, in February 2014,  we learned that our child had passed away and our hearts broke!  I remember going to the hospital for a routine follow-up appointment, excited to hear our child's heartbeat again.  The nurse was unable to find the heartbeat via a small external machine, but said "No worries, sometimes these don't pick up the heartbeat; so we will just try an ultrasound."  The ultrasound technician spent several minutes taking measurements, then she put her instruments down and shared that the baby no longer had a heartbeat....instantly I was in deep sorrow.  I had no thoughts, just the awareness that I was sobbing hard, and that my Jon was now at my side sobbing as well.  Tears remained in our eyes all the way home until once again we held each other on our couch, continuing to sob.  There wasn't much that could be said; it was a loss that was hard to fully understand, yet so real to us.  It became important to us to name our child.  We didn't know if our child was a boy or girl, so we picked names that were meaningful yet had a variation to account for both genders.  We chose the name Theodore Ephraim/Theodora Afraima meaning "Gift of God" and "Fertile" because we wanted to remember this child as a gift from God, and we learned that we were fertile, as we had previously believed that we were unable to conceive due to infertility problems.

As some time has passed, we have learned that grief can be a tricky yet beautiful part of life.  Sometimes we find ourselves in situations in which the sting of this loss hurts once again.  People often ask if we have children.  Sometimes we say yes, sometimes we say no.  It is hard to understand what is being asked.  Are they asking if we have ever had a child?  Or, are they asking if we presently have a child under our care?...as those are different questions.  People may share about their current pregnancy.  Then, we struggle to balance our thoughts of genuine joy for them, with our thoughts of apprehension and prayer for the health of their baby, as well as our thoughts of recognizing the fact that we were expecting to be in the same position at this time, yet we are not.  The balance of feeling excited and sad at the same time can be difficult and confusing!  And then sometimes, it seems like the sorrow of grief comes at random times without warning.

I have learned that, although I long for the day when I do not have moments of sorrow that capture my attention, grieving is actually a beautiful process.  I believe that grief and love are entwined.  We don't grieve unless we have loved.  Although Jon and I were only aware of our little one for a short time, we were filled with joy and love for this child, and we truly suffered the loss of a life.  I have taken great comfort in knowing that our little one is in heaven and that we will see this child again some day.  Jon and I laugh that, although we didn't get to see our child's face, we know our child probably has a big nose, since we both have big noses!

So, one of the hardest aspects about having experienced a miscarriage is not knowing how to interact with the rest of my world.  The question "Do you have children?" can no longer be asked of me without my remembering my little one.  I tend to do some sort of equation in my head based on how well I know the person asking, then I either say, "No, I don't have any children," or "Yes, but my little one has already gone to heaven."  With friends, I sometimes fear telling them that I have had a miscarriage for fear they will feel awkward about talking about their own children or current pregnancies with me.  I don't want to be isolated from my many friends who have children!  I believe that when life is created, it is something to celebrate so I do not want to miss out in rejoicing with others in God's creation of life!

As my Jon and I continue to navigate these new waters, we have both discovered that, although miscarriages happen often (apparently 1 out of 5 pregnancies), there doesn't seem to be much sharing about miscarriage.  On the one hand, I believe this lack of sharing to be a shame, while on the other hand, I recognize that it has taken me months to be brave enough to share publicly about my own miscarriage.  I have found this subject to be difficult to talk about, partly because, in our culture, there is no consensus about when life begins, and thus, when the relationship and love between parents and child begins.  Although I am firm in my belief - now more than ever - that life begins at conception, I do not wish to offend others.  I am also aware that our culture seems to shy away from talking about grief or death.  We want to stay positive, encouraging, and uplifting and as a result, I believe we can miss the opportunity to see how grief, tears, pain, sorrow, and lament can be a beautiful part of life.  For instance, I have found the spiritual practice of lament to be especially helpful and it has truly brought me to a deeper understanding of God's presence in my life.  

My hope is that perhaps our culture can become more sensitive in how we talk about life and relationships.  When a spouse passes away, one may be called a widow or widower.  This title answers the question of whether one is currently married or not, yet also communicates a recognition that there was a significant relationship.  I wish a universally accepted word existed for a parent to use when their child has passed away...a term that signifies that one does not currently have a living child, but also reflects that a child did exist and that there was a significant relationship with that child.  I realize others may not feel the same way, but for us, this would be most helpful!  I wonder if it would be helpful for other parents who have lost a child through miscarriage, or for those who have had stillbirths, or who have lost a child at any age.  Is there a way we can use language to honor children who have passed, as well as the relationships parents have with those children?


                                                        ~Sharonna & Jon



                                            

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