Our Bible doctrines class last night focused on a subject which has puzzled me for quite some time - the rapture of the church. Perhaps the source of my doubt and confusion originated from a lack of knowledge of the Bible. For years, I was of the opinion that, if a subject wasn't mentioned in the book of Revelation, that subject did not necessarily relate to the end of the church age and/or beyond. However, even after I had spent months looking up the many different passages relating to the rapture and other end times events, studying the verbage and context, seeking counsel, and reading other works relating to the subject of the rapture, I still had my doubts. Perhaps I was just reluctant to place my full confidence in a promise that seemed so unlikely and impossible to me.
It seems God is always teaching me a new lesson, even if I don't realize it at the time. In the hour before class, I sat down with my family to pizza night, which is the one night of the week when we get to eat dinner in front of the TV. Last night's program was "Abe and the Amazing Promise", a VeggieTales portrayal of the story of Abraham. Just to give a quick review, the story includes God's having promised the 100-year-old Abraham and his wife a child. They reacted with laughter and doubt, because they were limited by their own human point of view. It occurs to me this morning, as I look back on my time searching the scriptures, that I was reacting just like Abraham. I was in doubt because my own failed human nature prevented me from trusting God's word. To put it bluntly, I lacked faith.
Our pastors and our teachers at First Baptist Church do a marvelous job of explaining in minute detail various subjects and portions of scripture, to the degree that they are reluctant to continue on to the next point until everyone involved has a full and complete understanding of the material. Praise God that this class proved to be no exception. In fact, it was even better! In addition to the usual weekly study guide, which had already managed to make a significant dent in my doubt, there were many other materials given to us for our own personal study on the subject of the rapture. In short, God provided me with more than enough information to convince me of His promise.
God continues to give me exactly what I need, exactly when I need it. At seemingly every turn, when I begin to think of how far I've come in my walk with Him, He reminds me once again how little I truly understand, and how far I still have to go. He reminds me that, no matter how much faith I think I have, it pales in comparison to the amount of faith I could have. He reminds me that I will never be complete in Him until the day I am able to be with Him in Heaven.
May God forgive my stubborn ignorance! I praise Him for keeping me humble in my walk with Him, and I thank Him for His promise that I will be spared the period of tribulation on the earth.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1
"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." - John 20:29
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