Birth Pains

I went to bed early on November 3.  The wall-to-wall election coverage caused my blood pressure to soar and the volume of political voices made me reconsider my lifelong commitment to sobriety. So I abandon my desire to be an informed citizen, and settled into bed for the night.  When I woke at midnight and my husband wasn’t tucked in beside me, I knew that we were in for the long haul.

Hour after hour we were kept on pins and needles. Who will occupy the Oval Office? What is to become of our country? For anyone with strong political opinions, the waiting was torture. 

Waiting is part of the human experience. The Bible has a lot to say about waiting and uses powerful language to describe it. In Mark 13, Jesus uses the metaphor of  birth pains to explain the dynamic. 

As a woman who has never had children, I can’t pretend to have intimate knowledge of the concept. But as someone whose friends have, I get it.  There is a certain kind of restlessness and wall-climbing that sets in the days and weeks before a due date.  Add swollen ankles and sleepless nights to the countdown, and you quickly understand how moms-to-be are in an emotional pressure cooker.

So in Mark 13, Jesus discussed the end of heaven and earth as we know it. He sat with a few members of his inner circle and foretold these events, events that make your toes curl.  Many of these predictions came true forty years later when Rome savagely sacked Jerusalem. But Jesus also described future catastrophes that will unfold over millennia. International conflict, natural disasters and unprecedented persecution of Christ-followers will be the result of wide-spread deception. These, He said are the beginning, just the beginning of “birth pains.” Oh dear! The worst trouble this world has ever known will only multiply in frequency and intensity.

But even while he describes a time of unprecedented horror, Jesus gave reasons for hope:

First, He confirmed that the Holy Spirit will give His children everything they need when they are in over their heads (Mark 13:11)

Second, He revealed that the Bible is more sure, more dependable than the very ground under our feet (Mark 13:31)

Third, He explained that God’s timetable is calibrated by his love for His people (Mark 13:20)

What does Jesus Christ want us to do in light of this information? Make sure you vote for the right people? Make sure to watch the right pundits? Make sure to protest loudly against those with whom you disagree?

No! Instead, Jesus says, “Stay awake! Keep alert! Watch for my coming!”

Jesus makes it clear:  If you follow Him, there is no promise of a primrose path or faith-life lived on easy street. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Labor pains are not for the faint of heart. But there is a glorious future for those who are alert and persevere to the end.

Pastor Nancy Bontempo -- Friends Community Church, Sturgeon Bay