Goodbye Goodbye

Senior week went by so quickly, I can hardly believe it. I spent my last few days in school hanging out with as many friends as possible and saying my last goodbyes to people who I didn't know if I would ever see again...

It was a rather sad affair and I took lots of pictures but they're all still in my camera.

The good thing though, is that my dad flew here for my graduation ceremony and we had a really nice, relaxing weekend so far. I brought him to church with me this morning and it was just so wonderful to be able to worship together. What a blessing to have a god-fearing earthly father!

Tomorrow (I guess, today?) is finally the day that I'll be walking on stage to get my diploma in a big black gown and a black square hat. It all seems so surreal. Did four years really just end? Did they really ever begin? I look back and cannot believe how many new experiences I've gained and valuable lessons I've learned. Maybe the hefty college price tag wasn't so hefty after all.

Also, I'm not sure if this made international news headlines, but here in the U.S., a group of people has been putting up billboards and advertisements claiming that Jesus Christ was going to return and the world would end on 18:00, 21st May 2011.

As you can see, I'm still here typing away... So, no, the Rapture did not happen.

On the night of the 21st, a friend texted me asking if I got "Raptured" away yet. He thinks that just because I'm Christian, I believe in that nonsense. When I saw his text, I just thought to myself: "seriously? Is he seriously lumping me in with the rest of those crazy loonies?"

Apparently the grocery stores in his town were stocking up because there were actually people stocking up just in case disaster strikes and the world really ends.

The Bible very clearly says: "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Mark 13:32). So how can an 89 year old man from Boulder, Colorado predict when Jesus Christ will return to judge the living and the dead? In fact, the entire chapter of Matthew 24 speaks pretty clearly about the fact that we will not know the exact time of God's return.

This newspaper article from the Philadelphia Inquirer is a really hilarious but sad illustration of how delusional this world is becoming.

But as Pastor Mark said in church today, the point is not calculation, but preparation.

Goodnight.