Isn’t reality wonderful?

I got quite a laugh when I looked at the cartoon above. It reminded me of being a college student. For any of you who are old enough, this is the time to start humming Those Were the Days My Friends to yourself.

Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours
And dreamed of all the great things we would do

Those were the days my friend
We thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance forever and a day
We’d live the life we choose
We’d fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way.
La la la la…
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days

Then the busy years went rushing by us
We lost our starry notions on the way
If by chance I’d see you in the tavern
We’d smile at one another and we’d say

Those were the days my friend
We thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance forever and a day
We’d live the life we choose
We’d fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way.
La la la la…
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/mary_hopkin/those_were_the_days.html

Towards the end of the song the woman waxes nostalgic and I must admit I do also. I talk to my wife sometimes and tell her how I miss some of the unbridled idealism of those days, and the hopes that this generation would finally be the one that would change the world for the better. It was not to be, for after all, we also were (and are) quite sinful people. So, I will also look back and shudder at some of the changes that we wrought. Did we bring in some good changes? We absolutely did. Did we bring in some terrible changes? We absolutely did.

We are not the only generation to have hoped that we would be the one to finally change the world for the better. After all, World War I was the War to End all Wars, World War II brought us The Greatest Generation, President John Kennedy’s Peace Corps was an attempt to bring peace and understanding to the world. Going further back in history, our Founding Fathers were idealists who tried to form a more perfect union. If nothing else, the Quakers, the Civil War, and President Abraham Lincoln were certainly idealists and idealistic enterprises. Martin Luther King had a dream. You get the idea. I could keep on going.

In every case, we have butted up against the depth of sin that is within the world, within society, within culture, and, O horror of horrors, embedded deeply within each and every one of us. Once you understand the depth of that sin, you can understand the comfort that there is in the Book of Revelation. I am more and more convinced that the Book of Revelation was never meant nor written as a strict road map to the events of the end times.

I more and more agree with those who say that the Book of Revelation does not begin in some far future time but begins in the world of Saint John the Apostle and sweeps forward unto the end of this age. I do not deny that the Book of Revelation talks to us about things to come. Of course it does, it says so itself. But it also brings comfort to those who are living now, particularly to the idealists who thought that maybe their generation could change the world. It says to those yet alive and to the generations yet to come that God is at work and that there is a heavenly plan being worked out that we will not fully see on Earth, until the Day of His Appearing. It gives comfort that our actions are not wasted, our battles are not void, our dreams are not nullified, provided they are given over to Our Lord Jesus Christ and that we trust upon Him in faith. [Note: apparently in my first posting I did not make it clear that I believe that some of the events described in the Book of Revelation are events that took place before, at, and immediately after the time of Saint John. That is, some of Saint John’s descriptions are about current people and situations. But Saint John also clearly looks forward and describes in symbol events that have yet to happen.]

Frankly, there are some days when I need that comfort. There are days when I see myself getting older that I need that comfort. There are days after visits to the physician when I need that comfort. There are days when I find myself fighting the same battles we, our parents, our grandparents, our ancestors fought, that I need that comfort. There are days when I see my children fighting the same battles, that I need that comfort. There are days when I hold my grandchildren and realize that they, too, will have to go through all this, that I need that comfort.

Yes, I can see why it had to be an old John to whom Our Lord Jesus Christ gave the Book of the Revelation. It takes an older person to understand the need for a certain type of comfort.