JUL 4

Matthew 24:3-14
Memorise John 6:26-29
“All these are the beginning of sorrows”

WHAT IS THE ECONOMIC SIGN?

From the ecologic we come to the economic sign. This is where famines (Matthew 24:7) come in. The world economy has always been uncertain and bleak. Most recently, we recall the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, the ill effects of which are still being felt today. Terrorism and the war against it will also inevitably affect the world economy. We are constantly being braced for yet another spate of hard times. Even in our favoured island of Singapore earning a livelihood is a struggle for survival. Perhaps you have friends whose parents have faced retrenchment, or you have heard of people around you suffering pay cuts or having difficulties in finding employment, all whilst contending with inflation and rising costs.

Commenting on famine as a general sign of Jesus’ Second Coming, Dr S H Tow in the RPG of April-June 2001 says: “Despite advances in modern agriculture and increased food production in the major agricultural countries, masses of the Third World people are starving or actually dying from under-nutrition. Ethiopia and parts of Africa bounding the Sahara desert are in the famine zone. It is said that every night a quarter of the world goes to bed hungry.”

The world would respond to this global problem of famine in Third World countries in its usual way. Humanitarian organizations would appeal to those living in the First World to send aid, make donations and raise funds. What, though, should our response as Christians be? Of course, where the Lord has given us the means to, we should do our part to help those in need. But our focus should not be on solving the problem of famine, for we see that it was already been prophesied by Jesus as a sign of His coming. Instead, realize that far greater than these physical needs are the spiritual needs of mankind. Feed a poor child today, he will come back hungry tomorrow. But give him the gospel, and his soul will be eternally nourished.

Dear teen, may the signs of famine in the world around you today remind you of the nearness of Christ’s coming! Will you not bring the gospel today to a hungering soul in need?

Thought: Far worse than physical famine is spiritual famine.
Prayer: Lord, fill our hungering hearts.