Luke 21:5-19
5When some were speaking about the temple,
how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God,
he said, 6“As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone
will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”
7They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign
that this is about to take place?” 8And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray;
for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’
Do not go after them. 9“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified;
for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.”
10Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;
11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues;
and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
12“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you;
they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons,
and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.
13This will give you an opportunity to testify.
14So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance;
15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able
to withstand or contradict. 16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers,
by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.
17You will be hated by all because of my name.
18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your souls.
2 comments:
Verses 5-6
I've been thinking about the idea of "adorning" our churches lately. I think a lot of people in the church today feel like "adornment" is a waste of money. We tend to have the attitude of Judas in John 12:8 when Mary anoints Jesus' head with expensive perfume..."this money could be spent on our children's program!" We build our churches in industrial warehouses now, shaped like big boxes, instead of places with character. I think we're afraid of making unbelievers "uncomfortable" by being too "churchy"-looking. And we certainly want to be sensitive to the comfort of unbelievers. However, there is something about "adorning" a place with beautiful things dedicated to God. I think it is definately a way to express our adoration to God, and to also enhance and encourage an atmosphere of adoration.
However, we have to remember that Jesus himself said this will all be "thrown down."
So, ultimately, I think we need to make our churches spaces of beauty and adornment - not in a showy way, but in a way that enhances people's worship of God. And I certainly think that can be done in a "warehouse" church (it just might take a little more work).
As for the rest of the passage, my question is, how do we make this relevant to modern-day churches? None of us (I don't think) can really fathom being persecuted and hated because of Christ, at least not here in America. I think Christians from other countries could better understand. So how do we as Americans grasp what is coming?
v16 Can you imagine
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