I do believe that timelines matter in the Bible. For example, did you know that Jesus' last miracle was healing the ear of the High Priest's servant that Peter had cut off while Jesus was getting arrested? (Matthew 26) I repeat - Jesus healed the ear of the guy who was arresting him. Then Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Put your sword back in its place..for all who draw the sword will die by the sword." (Matthew 26:52).
I believe that the sword Jesus mentioned here is metaphorical to anything that we can potentially use as a tool to hurt people who we think are hurting Christ. Peter's loyalty to Christ at that time was a little bit unstable and wordly. However, Jesus wanted Peter to stop using his loyalty and affection as a weapon and instead, take it to a higher level in terms of treating others - even his own enemies, for the sake of the Gospel.
In today's world, especially due to the ease of knowing what everyone is up to, it becomes easier to spot our potential enemy - people who do things we don’t like or people who are on the other side of a political or moral issue. I am as guilty of it myself at times and I want to be very honest here but I see a disheartening trend going on among Christians - which is the seemingly hateful compulsion to defend Christianity as a religion in public platforms instead of spreading the Gospel and living it out. I see a trend of Christians losing opportunities of sharing the Gospel and making disciples in exchange for gestures of “defending the faith” or pushing back against persecution. It becomes even worse when politics is added to the rhetoric.
I feel like many of us are losing touch with what Jesus really wants us to do in the last days. I don't believe he wants us to spend most of our time expressing our anger on social media because Starbucks refuses to write "Merry Christmas" on their cup or to keep posting memes that Christianity is under attack. Of course it is. It has always been under attack but the last time I checked, Jesus wants us to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20) which is the last thing He told the disciples before he went back to heaven. If someone you love was leaving on a really long trip, wouldn’t you regard their last message as the most crucial, if not, the most important thing for you to remember and do? Jesus wants us to "simply share the Gospel, by the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God" (credits to Campus Crusade for Christ). In fact, the Apostle Paul said, "When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some." (1 Corinthians 9:22)
I am convinced that God can pretty much handle himself. He already knows that so many people couldn't care less about Him. He can handle the rejection and He is not surprised by it. Now, I believe that what He wants us to do is not to “nurse His wounds” and angrily defend Him against those who reject our message. Our job is simply to share it and love those who reject it, anyway. I like what Charles Spurgeon once said, “The Gospel is like a caged lion. It does not need to be defended. It just needs to be let out of its cage.”
