Solar Eclipse: Nothing Short of Amazing
It had to have been one of the most over-hyped, over-sold, and yet totally underwhelming cataclysmic NON-events of my entire lifetime – maybe even eclipsing the dreaded but totally bogus and phantom Y2K world-wide computer shut-down which never happened at the turn of the last century… Recently, on Monday, August 21st, there was (apparently, from what I hear) a total solar eclipse. This particular type of eclipse would be unlike anything we would ever see again in most of our lifetimes, as this type of eclipse only occurs once every one hundred and something or so years, or so we were told by the ‘experts.’
Did you spend time in preparation of the Solar Eclipse?
And the portion of it that was nothing short of absolutely amazing to me – in case you couldn’t tell by reading the article to this point – was obviously not the eclipse itself, but the unbelievable preparation that so many people were willing to put in prior to it, mostly because it was the latest “here today and gone tomorrow” craze (you know, sort of like fidget spinners?). Intoxicated on hype and dancing hysterically in lemming-like lock-step with the mass-media’s “once in a lifetime,” mass-hysteria, must-see mania, massive amounts of men, women, and children reportedly lined up by the thousands, back out of stores, through parking lots, and around corners for hours, in order to purchase ‘specially-licensed’ paper and plastic glasses with which to view said solar eclipse – glasses which would then, most likely, be summarily discarded by the thousands, to grace garbage cans everywhere only mere moments after the great sun shadow sped by (This, in a culture which claims to always want to ‘go green’ by the way.) Television stations wholly devoted to weather phenomena purposefully planned and dispatched many of their major stars and personalities to different and varying locations along the eclipse’s projected path across America, incurring what I would have thought to have been ‘astronomical’ travelling and accommodations costs – at least, I’m glad that I didn’t have to pay for them.
As for my wife and I, we were traveling when “it” occurred. Actually, we had stopped for fuel and noticed a few people with their paper and plastic glasses on and/or electronic “devices” out, staring up at the sky while seeking to get a momentary glimpse or image of what was occurring in the heavens. Over the course of the past half hour, our environment had admittedly gotten a bit dingy in the south, but a few minutes after we got back on the road everything got back to normal. And I thought, ‘Really? All of that time, and money, and discussion, and preparation that so many people had put in… for nothing more than a few brief moments of basically the same effect as a cloudy day so often and routinely produces? What a terribly sad commentary on our “got to get caught up in it because everyone else is,” “got to have it because everyone else has,” “media made it sound so special so it must be,” “only this moment matters,” drama-driven culture!
Consider for yourself: A very brief and momentary moon shadow darkens our sun and everyone has to go to incredibly great lengths to “see” it – although all will experience its ‘shady side’ whether they want to or not as it passes by. But, when millions of these very same folks who are conversely walking in the deadly darkness of sin have the opportunity to experience walking in the pure and unpolluted light of God’s presence and preservation for all eternity in heaven, they shun and avoid it with every fiber of their being! Where is their preparation then? When was the last time you saw a television or internet news story about hundreds of people lining up outside of the meeting house of a congregation of the Lord’s church – the ‘official,’ ‘licensed’ church of the Lord of glory ‘by the Way’ (Romans 16:16; Acts 20:28) – through the parking lot and back down around several city blocks, for a full four to six hours before bible study even begins, in order to get a good view and a glimpse of glory from the word of God? When was the last time you heard some ‘star’ or member of the media say in effect, “It doesn’t matter to me how much time, or money, or effort, or preparation I have to put in to get to worship and bible class (2 Ptr. 1:2-11)! Seeing the Light pierce my darkness (Jn. 3:19-21) is so much more than just a mere and momentary, once in a lifetime event – it is an essential and ever-necessary component to transforming my momentary earthly life into an eternal in the heavens event (2 Cor. 5:1-11)! I’d be foolish not to go! Want to come with me?”
In Matthew 16:1-3 and Luke 12:54-57, Jesus condemned those whose feeble and fatal focus enabled them to accurately forecast the weather, but who chose not to discern the far more important purpose of His presence and promise of His return. Christ’s return will be nothing short of the most stunning, amazing event this earth’s inhabitants have ever witnessed (1 Thess. 4:16-18; Rev. 1:7). It will come without warning or media hype – but make no mistake, it will come just as Jesus promised (2 Ptr. 3:1-18).
The only question that therefore remains, is ‘what on earth’ was more of a priority for you to spend your precious time and money on prior to that? Events like the momentary darkening of the sun, or, walking in the light (1 Jn. 1:1-7) and preparing daily for the eternal reckoning God promised, so that you can then walk in the unfading light of the Son of glory forever?