"It's the End of the World as We Know It"

R.E.M., allegedly one of the greatest rock bands of all time, announced yesterday they are ending their 31-year career. The reason this news item caught my attention is because of the “eye-grabbing” title of the article in today’s Mercury News: “The end of the world as we know it” (the title of one of their most well known songs).  Apparently, the author was trying to make the not-so-subtle connection that the world will never be the same without R.E.M.

The title holds more meaning than you might imagine at first. Our world is constantly changing. People change jobs or schools; people get married or divorced; people’s morals change; people get old; people die and people are born! Every day it is the end of the world as we know it.

But through our ever-changing world, God is at work behind the scene to break us of our addictions to people and possessions. Through the normal course of life, we are increasingly aware that we can only truly possess that which is eternal.  But in all honesty, most of us are afraid of losing our people and possessions—these are the things that define us.

In his book “The Pursuit of God,” A. W. Tozer has a chapter called, “The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing.” What is the secret of obtaining this blessing? It is this: “having everything, but possessing nothing” and “having nothing, and yet possessing all things” (John 17:10; 2 Cor. 6:10).