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Press the button

Billy Chan

Friday, June 5, 2015

Press_The_Button
Recently, I watched a movie called Left Behind. It is based on a novel Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days. I did not read the book, but accidentally, I watched the movie. The movie is about some people who suddenly disappear completely without any warning. The whole world is scared and shocked. Some of the characters are, of course, trying to find the reason behind. At the conclusion of the movie, the explanation came down to God. God took all the “good” people up to heaven. It tried to link it with the word “rapture” which can be found in Christian Bible.
I am not going to do a review on the movie or comment on the meaning of rapture. In the movie, after the “rapture” happened, everyone was so scared. Some of them were very disappointed. Some people were very surprised that a christian pastor was still on Earth! The pastor was sad too. Some people expressed regret that they did not listen to their loves one who previously asked them to believe in God.
It reminded me of a homily said by the Montreal auxiliary Bishop Thomas Dowd, who asked, “If there was a button in front of you that would take you to see Jesus right away once you pressed it, would you press it?”
I will give you a pause here because… I know you are thinking deeply about this now…
I have asked a lot of people this question. Almost 100% of the kids answered YES immediately. For the adults, I cannot remember if there were any of them who said yes right away. I wish I could be the kids, answering yes without wasting one second to think.
The next question is more interesting. If you won't press now, when would you do it? This is indirectly asking, "What do you need to do before pressing the button."
“For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (JN 3:16). The answer is that we need to believe in him. Jesus is always asking us to love and to repent. “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.” (MT 4:17). St. Paul is the best example here. He went from persecuting christians, to joining them and suffering with them. St. Paul is humble enough to accept his sins and then changed completely.
If we think that to love and to repent are the last things we need to do before we press the button, shouldn't we do it now? So that we can press the button without one second of thinking, then we can all go see and be with Jesus forever and ever.

Billayy
Billy Chan, a former radio host and motivational speaker,  spent the past ten years working with youth in Montreal. He enjoys using  humour to illustrate his relationship with God. In his blog, you will find reflections on his experience with youth ministry and his special way of working with youth today.
 


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