The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

I was talking to my sister on the phone tonight and she told me that she had heard on the radio this morning that according to Nasa, the world was going to end in 2012 because of solar flares. (Shades of the creepy movie Knowing or 2012 anyone?)

Now, that sentence had a way of freaking me out a little so I immediately started googling the words "NASA and end of world". The first hit was a headline that said exactly what my sister had told me she heard on the radio. Lucky for me, before I could really get myself all worked up, I noticed that the newspaper it came from was the Weekly World Inquistor. Not exactly the New York Times, folks.

Just below the link to the Weekly World Inquisitor was one to NASA which assures the public that the world is not going to end in 2012. In fact, NASA scientist David Morrison (Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, CA) has been pretty outspoken about all the 2012 end of the world fears. He says that many people tell him how scared their families are (adults and children) and that some people tell him they are thinking about committing suicide to avoid experiencing a catclysmic event. He goes on to say that "It is a sad testimonial that you need NASA to tell you that the world is not going to end." Now just in case you need to read these articles for yourself, here are the links: www.trendsupdates.com/tag/solar-flare-to-burn-earth ; www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html ; (and if you need a good laugh) www.weeklyworldinquisitor.com/NASA-predicts-end-of-world.html .

As I was thinking about how quickly I, too, had started to panic at the news that NASA might have actually predicted the end of the world, I started to feel a little ashamed. Our desire to continue to live on earth and enjoy the "good life" is really just a symptom of our brokenness. Even if solar flares wiped out the earth in a blaze of tremendous size, we have nothing to be afraid of because we belong to Jesus and we are going to a much better place when we die. Whatever pain or suffering we experience here on earth, is nothing compared to the JOY we will have upon arriving at our eternal home.

The first 3 verses of Psalm 46 states, "God is our refuge and strength, and ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."

I think there is a reason that is read often at funerals. We need to be reminded that this earth is God's earth. That we are God's children. God may not give us a happy ending in the short term but He will give us one in the long term if we are willing to call upon His name in faith.

" ' Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.' The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." - Psalm 46: 10-11.

CS