"As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Matthew 13:40-43
I like this. I'm not saying that it will be fun for everyone... I mean, teeth gnashing doesn't sound like a good time, but I do like the idea of a place where good people can live without having to worry about the bad ones. ... I think that sometimes we learn bad habits and defensive behaviors and mistrust because we feel like we have to protect ourselves from others... and so in a way, by being around bad, we become bad in those ways, and those are things that we have to really work to overcome... to learn how to love and trust and be willing to be vulnerable despite the risks.
Overall though, whatever it means for us, I am overwhelmed by the idea of children growing up in such a time and not ever having to learn about stranger danger, and there being zero risk of human trafficking, sexual abuse, and so many other horrible evils that the Lord has every right to cleanse from the earth completely.
Today, let's work on shining forth and learning to be good even in challenging circumstances... but let's also have hope for a better day where we don't have to worry about true evil touching our lives, because the Lord is our protection and our shield even now, but in the end, he will make everything right.
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Matthew 13:40-43
I like this. I'm not saying that it will be fun for everyone... I mean, teeth gnashing doesn't sound like a good time, but I do like the idea of a place where good people can live without having to worry about the bad ones. ... I think that sometimes we learn bad habits and defensive behaviors and mistrust because we feel like we have to protect ourselves from others... and so in a way, by being around bad, we become bad in those ways, and those are things that we have to really work to overcome... to learn how to love and trust and be willing to be vulnerable despite the risks.
Overall though, whatever it means for us, I am overwhelmed by the idea of children growing up in such a time and not ever having to learn about stranger danger, and there being zero risk of human trafficking, sexual abuse, and so many other horrible evils that the Lord has every right to cleanse from the earth completely.
Today, let's work on shining forth and learning to be good even in challenging circumstances... but let's also have hope for a better day where we don't have to worry about true evil touching our lives, because the Lord is our protection and our shield even now, but in the end, he will make everything right.
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