God long ago called me to be a “watchman on the wall.” Watchmen must be alert to signs of danger. In ancient times, the watchman was like a military scout, except he didn’t gather intelligence by going into the land of the enemy. He watched from towers along the wall of his own city. His job was especially crucial at night when others slept.
Christian watchmen also watch for danger, but they also watch for signs of something wonderful. Jesus promised to return, and He said that as that time approached, there would be certain signs. Not all of those signs are negative. For instance, He said that in the time leading up to His return, the Gospel would be preached in all the world. That’s positive!
But much of what He and the prophets told us about the time preceding His return sounds scary — terrifying even. The watchman on the wall must look out into the darkness. He must be unflinching. And, to be honest, it can be depressing. If you have a similar calling, you know what I mean. It’s heartbreaking to see so many people choosing paths of destruction and pain.
Since 2020, things have been changing at breakneck speed. The whole world seems to be convulsing with violent rage. A Russian weatherman recently joked that conditions were “ideal” for a nuclear strike against NATO. He thought it funny to “joke” about starting World War 3 and causing death on a scale never known before, especially in his own land. It was supposed to be humorous to think of hundreds of millions severely injured, in horrible pain, but unable to receive medical aid. Is mass starvation funny? Are irradiated cities funny? They apparently are to this guy.
Have you read about life in Haiti right now? It seems that every reporter talks about the smell of burning human corpses. The Washington Post reports that the people there can’t get the bodies cleared away. There are just too many, and it’s dangerous work because the gangs don’t always want them removed. Vast numbers of dead bodies serve to advertise the gangs’ power. Sometimes, gangs burn people alive. But the majority of the burning bodies are a result of people sick of the smell of rotting flesh and trying to find a way to clear the streets.
For most of us, such conditions are unfathomable. But Haitians are living in it every hour of every day. I could talk about Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, or the nightmare many African people and nations are living through. I think about the ugliness being taught to small children all over the world, and what that’s doing to their impressionable minds. Things are terribly wrong and getting worse.
These things bring to mind a song first appearing in print in 1919, author unknown. The song says, “This world is not my home. I’m just passing through.” It concludes by saying, “I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.” For Christians, this world is not home. While here, we’re supposed to go about doing good. But we need to understand. We were made for another world.
Jesus taught that, though we are in this world, we are not of this world (see John 17:11, 14-16). Philippians 3:20 says, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” We look forward to heaven, but more than that, we eagerly await the arrival of Jesus. Titus 2:13 calls it “the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.”
So, when you look out on the night, remember… day is coming.
