Daniel 12:5-13 Thank God It's None of My Business

Observation: As the apocalyptic Book of Daniel comes to a close, Daniel has just seen a vision of God's people rising from death and being delivered from evil by the archangel Michael. Daniel sees two heavenly messengers on either side of a river and asks, "How long shall it be until the end of these wonders?" Their answer is...a little confusing. "A time, two times, and half a time." Daniel, understandably, doesn't get it. The messengers then give him two different lengths of time, one right after another--1290 days and 1335 days--from the time "the regular burnt offering is taken away" until the end. Finally, the message is, "Go on your way and rest; you shall rise for your reward at the end of days."

Application: I have a lot on my mind and my heart. I want to listen for the Spirit and follow Jesus wherever he leads. I want to be a supportive and faithful husband. I want to do everything I can to help my kids become compassionate adults who love God and care for their neighbor. I want to proclaim the Gospel to God's people and help form a community of Good News right here in Northern Michigan. I want to stand up for justice both in my community and my country. These things are my duty and obligation. I've got a lot on my plate, as I'm sure do you.

Which is why it's good news that the time when God decides to bring our current age to an end, raise to life those who have died, and establish an eternal reign of justice, is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS.

Car payments? Taxes? Keeping insurance current? Our business.
Predicting the date of the end times? Not our business.

Holding close those we care about? Making amends when we do wrong? Checking in on those we know who are having a rough time of it?  Our business.
Getting out a newspaper, a Bible, and a calculator, and updating Jesus' Google calendar so he can return to earth on time? Not our business.

Making disciples of all nations? Baptizing? Teaching? Sharing Good News that the tomb is empty and God has won the victory over death? Definitely our business.
Treating the Word of God like a GPS to give us an "estimated arrival time" for the end of human history? Definitely. Not. Our. Business.

Jesus says it himself: No one knows the day or the hour.

Daniel the prophet hears it from God's messengers: "Go on your way, and rest." We'll get there when we get there. Maybe it's a simplistic reading of the text, but it almost feels like God's messengers are calling out random numbers, like a parent behind the wheel who is sick to death of children in the back seat asking "are we there yet?"

Go on your way and rest. Your business will not change between now and then. Your job description as a child of God and disciple of Jesus will not be updated. It's the same stuff, now and always. Believe, be faithful, love your neighbor. That's it. The rest is God's job.

Prayer: Oh Lord God, help us stay in our lane. Seriously. We need help with this. Remind your people, as many times as we need it, which may be a lot of times, to stay in our lane and let you be you. Amen.