Will it get better or get worse?

A difficult question to ask. I believe all of us want our situation to get better. Nobody would normally wish our situation, personal or global, to get worse. And in these days when the COVID-19 pandemic is still progressing, even evolving into worse variants, most, if not all of us, hope this episode in the world’s history will end. So that we can be in better times.

But really, for us who call ourselves Christians, do we believe that things will get better? Shouldn't we be preparing ourselves for things to get worse? Maybe we ought to remind ourselves of what Jesus Christ already warned us about in Matthew 24:6-8 - “And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.” The whole of Chapter 24 is about the end times and his second coming and Jesus has specifically outlined it for us.

If I may speak to, and only for, those who profess to follow Jesus, do we really take Christ’s words seriously. If we do, then we all know the future is not going to get better. The world will always let us believe we have a bright future. Indeed, the developments in the last two centuries have brought us such unbelievable advancements man never thought of before. In technology, science, medicine, health, artificial intelligence, philosophy, and body of knowledge, etc. But Jesus’ words should reverberate in our consciousness --things will get worse, there will be birth pains whether we believe it or not.

Take stock of the world now. There are actually more wars than ever before – not the big world wars that we had in the past but smaller intertribal, interethnic group wars. Science will tell us there are actually more earthquakes in the last century than ever before. Oxfam International says, “Today, the world stands on the brink of unprecedented famines.” There had been more pestilence and epidemics in the last century than in the last millennium. And worse, too. Now we have the COVID-19 pandemic!

Will it get better or worse? The more important question is, “Do you believe Jesus or not?” If we do, then we know it will become worse, and the time will come for this world to end. This narrative of Jesus was in answer to his disciples’ question in verse 3, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?” The good news is Jesus is coming again and he will come when “those things must take place.” (v. 6). We can hope and pray for things to get better, and they may, but things will get even worse again. When they do, as they certainly will, those who are prepared can be eagerly and expectantly happy, because it means his second coming is near.