Global Warning

    There are few people these days who will dispute the validity of global warming. Oh, you can still start a heated discussion by proclaiming that human activity absolutely is (or is not) to blame, but whether the problem comes from a pickup’s tailpipe, a South Pacific volcano, long-term “natural” swings in world climate or some all-the-above combination, rapid glacial reduction and melting icecaps are hard to deny.
    With minimal effort and an internet connection, you can find all kinds of predictions about how awful it will be for all of us if we don’t get runaway climate change under control ASAP. While acknowledging that the rules are changing even while they play the game, researchers run their computer models and find shrinking ice caps and expanding deserts in our future, along with more extreme weather, stronger storms and rising sea levels.
    These developing conditions may force vast numbers of people to migrate from formerly hospitable areas to seek shelter and sustenance elsewhere. Where these migrants will go and how they might be received could be the topic for a great discussion about Christian responsibility. My guess is that most of us will want the wandering hordes to be well taken care of, just not by us. But that discussion can be held another day.
    Most of what I’ve read about the topic indicates that even if all the human factors that are thought to be contributing to “global warming” could be corrected overnight, it would be decades, if not centuries, before the swing of the climate pendulum would be reversed. And, since the human race is so hesitant to sacrifice comfort and seems to major in dithering and finger-pointing when wisdom-directed action is in maximum demand, my suspicion is that we will in fact do very little to correct those contributing factors for many more years to come.
    Does that leave the future looking grim? Sorry if global upheaval doesn’t fit your favorite retirement scenario; maybe we could talk about that some other time as well. In the meantime, surely it’s fair to say that the world certainly appears to be facing an extremely complex set of conditions that seem bound to move society away from “normal” with increasing speed in the years to come. Among those conditions, the rise in sea levels resulting from melting polar and glacial ice is likely, in my opinion, to be the most immediately demanding. And of most interest to the Bible-believing Christian, this sea level rise also seems to be noted in scripture.
    As recorded in Luke 21:25-26, Jesus told his followers that in the days before his return, “there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”
    Without taking unnecessary liberties with the original text, that last phrase could be accurately translated, “The controlling characteristics of the atmosphere will be disturbed and altered.” Whether man-caused, naturally cyclical or supernaturally stirred by the finger of God as prelude to the consummation of the ages, the conditions that are bringing us global warming fit that phrase exactly. The controlling characteristics of the atmosphere are being altered, the seas will surely be roaring ever louder as a result, nations are already beginning to show signs of turmoil over the issue, and as the dire predictions begin to come true, people will surely be terrified at what they see coming on the earth.
    The apostle Peter asks a serious question for serious believers in serious times: Considering the reality of coming judgment and the destruction of all creation (see 2 Peter 3), how should we be living? Peter suggests not in fear and trepidation, but with excited anticipation coupled with efforts to hasten the day! The author of Hebrews 10:25 also weighs in on the topic, admonishing us to increase our efforts at constructive, supportive fellowship as we see the day approaching.
    These writers are, of course, only confirming the words of Jesus, quoted in Luke 21:33-36 as telling us, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."