Dealing With What I Know

Scripture – Luke 21:29-33: 29He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32“I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Reflection: Well……..the image of the tree is something easy to understand. When we begin seeing some green appear on the branches, we know winter is past and summer is coming. And so we know that the signs Jesus described show that the kingdom of God is near. (Although I always have to remember, “near” in God’s time could be a thousand years away.)

Then I come to verse 32, and I don’t know what to do with it. If Jesus was talking about His death and resurrection then it makes some sense. If He was talking about His ultimate return, it doesn’t make any sense at all to me. But that’s alright. One of the things I’ve learned is to accept things in the Bible that I don’t understand. There’s plenty I do understand. I’ve got my hands full dealing with that. So I don’t spend a lot of time with verses like this.

Verse 33 gets back to something easier to comprehend. It leads me to wonder about the things I value most in life. How long will they last?