Asteroid, illustration.
NASA is tracking five asteroids headed toward Earth over the next few days. The largest is 1,100 feet wide, roughly the size of a stadium.
It’s expected to be nearest to Earth on June 6. However, the closest it’s projected to get is 3.16 million miles away.
Three of the other four asteroids are the size of an airplane; the fourth is the size of a house. However, they will not impact us, either. The house-sized asteroid will get the closest at 1.83 million miles from Earth.
I suspect you already knew these space rocks pose no threat to our planet. If they did, you would not be reading about them first in this article. They would be making global news along with the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd’s death.
Since they will miss our planet by a wide margin, their approach is interesting but not compelling.
We measure the significance of what we encounter by the degree to which it affects us. This is only natural; we could not possibly digest all the information that is available to us over the course of even a single day. So we filter the news by relevance, focusing on that which matters personally.
Even now, you’re probably wondering when I’ll get to the point. So here it is: unlike the imminent visit of four asteroids, the imminent return of our Lord is vitally relevant to us, whether we acknowledge this fact or not.
Redeeming the only day we have
When the risen Christ ascended into heaven, two angels assured his followers, “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Jesus said of his return, “concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36).
As a result, he warned us, “Stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (v. 42).
If you knew that a stadium-sized asteroid would slam into our planet tomorrow, wreaking global havoc, I suspect you would be doing all you could to prepare for such a calamity today. This is because you would believe the warnings issued by NASA and other authorities.
Tragically, our secularized culture has decided that the Bible is no more authoritative than any other compendium of personal spirituality. In the view of many, the Second Coming is just as mythical as the thunderbolts of Zeus.
Of course, dismissing the reality of a fact makes it no less real. The person who denies the sunrise doesn’t harm the sun. Whether we want to admit it or not, Jesus is coming back. And we’re one day closer to his return than ever before.
How is this fact relevant to these difficult days?
If we lived each day as if it were our last day, we would live each day to its fullest. If we knew we would stand before the Holy God tomorrow, we would be more obedient to his command to love our neighbor as ourselves today. We would be more committed to personal holiness and public evangelism and ministry.
We would be inspired and empowered to make this day count, because it would be the only day we know we have.
Here’s the truth: it is.
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