Run-Hide-Tell: Terror in London

We live in very sobering times.  Indeed, we have seen again in London tonight, how suddenly and tragically terror can strike at the heart of a beautiful summer evening.

 

"Run. Hide. Tell."  This is the Tweet put out this evening by The Metropolitan Police in London. 3 words that describe a state of fear.  Run.  Where, exactly?  Hide. From who? Where? And for how long?  Tell.  Tell who? Tell them what?  The police, and the government authorities, all have a duty to warn. Fearful messages like, "Run, Hide, Tell" serve us well in this regard. Nevertheless, if we are followers of Christ, our hearts are tuned to a different set of messages;

 

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. 'Tell us,' they said, 'when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?'

 

Jesus answered: Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you [followers of Jesus] will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. [Christ] At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase in wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come... The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24

 

...At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

 

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world! The Gospel of John, chapter 16

 

It tears at my heart, and of course, those who are in the situation, all the more so.  I sit safely in my home, thousands of miles away, but I feel at a deep level the utter confusion of it all.  I wonder sometimes, if we have no choice but to store these random events away in the back closets of our mind.  What else are we to do, after all?  Do we change our daily routines and habits?  Furtively inspect the people around us on a daily basis...looking for...what, exactly?  The wrong clothes or haircut?  An unfriendly demeanor?  When terrorism strikes, it seems always to be almost entirely random.  The perpetrators more often than not, look fairly normal, as we consider normal to look.

 

Followers of the Lord Jesus Christ have a solemn duty in these challenging times.   Our duty is to our friends, our family and our neighbors. We are called by God through the scripture to be sober-minded, prayerful, attuned to ways God may be working in and around us.  The Apostle Paul has said we are partners in the gospel - we are called to work alongside God, wherever we find Him working.

 

Never doubt for a moment that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Father who sent forth His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as the perfect representation of Himself in this world; this God is on the Throne of Heaven. He is before all, and in all, and above all. 

 

The Son [Jesus] is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs. (The Letter to the Hebrews)

 

The nations may mock Him, people may doubt Him, but this Jesus is sovereign and all-powerful.  He knows the end from the beginning, and every event He has ordained from before the foundation of the world will come to pass - completely, and perfectly.  This same Jesus, who sits at the Right Hand of God the Father, will come again, and He will rule upon the earth.

 

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken to angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?

 

There will come a day when every knee in heaven and on the earth, and under the earth, will bow before Him.  And every mouth will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Ephesians 2)

 

We do well then, to search the Scriptures, because it is the Scriptures that teach us who Jesus is -

 

You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. (Jesus, The Gospel of John, chapter 5, speaking with the Jewish leaders in the community).

 

One thing we know - in a world of uncertainty, political upheaval, and terror:  Jesus has conquered the last enemy - death. 

 

Only Jesus. 

 

No other teacher, however respected or wise, has conquered death, but Jesus the Christ.  No terror, no power on the earth or under the earth, can stand before His power. No weapon formed against Him shall prosper. Jesus is the One who swallowed death in victory, and it is only through and in Him that our life and victory are assured. He is our refuge, our strength, our promise of hope and life and peace.