Give Up on the World?

By Dr. Don Bierle, FaithSearch President

A Christian friend recently said to me, “I am praying like never before that Jesus will return to end it all.” He had given up on the world. Is that what Jesus said His followers should do?

I’m hesitant to criticize because I have had similar thoughts. Many Christians have. There is a sense in which those thoughts are right, as C.S. Lewis wrote, “A continual looking forward to the eternal world is not a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do” (Mere Christianity, Macmillan, 1960, p. 118). 

The Bible says we “groan” in this body, “longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven” (2 Corinthians 5:2). 

The apostle Paul told the Roman church that as Christians, “we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23). 

We are instructed to “look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). 

This is the believer “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus” (Titus 2:13).

God So Loved the World

On the other hand, I can’t stop reflecting on the familiar John 3:16 passage in the Bible where God says He loved the world so much that the Son was sent to die for us. The Holy Spirit inspired the apostle Peter to explain why Jesus was delaying His return: “The Lord is not slow about His promise…but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” Jesus wept over Jerusalem because He longed for their repentance and salvation (Luke 19:41-42; Matthew 23:37).

The heart of Jesus for today is reflected in the forty days He was on earth after His resurrection in that He gave multiple commissions to His disciples to go to the lost world (Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:7-8). He said, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working” (John 5:17); “We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work” (John 9:4).

In the parable of the talents, Jesus has the master saying to his servants, “Do business with this until I come back” (Luke 19:13; emphasis added) and was deeply offended by the one who buried his talent (gave up on the world?) rather than invest it (Matthew 25:26-27).

“I Also Send You”

The first thing that Jesus said when He appeared to His disciples on Easter evening was, “…as the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). He then “breathed on them” to receive the Holy Spirit (v. 22). For what purpose? To deal with the sin of the world (v. 23). This is the same thing He told His Father in prayer the night before His crucifixion, “As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world” (John 17:18). Why was Jesus sent? So that people would not perish, “but have eternal life” (John 3:16). 

“…also for those who will believe in Me…” 

Jesus made clear that His heart for the lost would not change, even 2,000 years later, by praying, “My prayer is not for them [His apostles] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message.” That’s us! Jesus made no provision for us to “give up on the world.” 

To finish the quote by C.S. Lewis at the beginning of this article: [a continual looking forward to the eternal world] 

“does not mean that we are to leave the present as it is. If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.” 

I think Jesus would approve of that.

Your partnership in prayer and financial support with FaithSearch International is your affirmation of the heart of Jesus. Our mission is “to extend the Gospel with evidence to all peoples everywhere.” Together, through this message, we are adding spiritual great-great-great… grandchildren for the apostles. And it makes the world a better place.