It is the last hour

About 1900 years ago, the author of the first epistle of John wrote:
Children, it is the last hour; Παιδία, ἐσχάτη ὥρα ἐστίν (1 John 2:18a).
Literally, the Greek reads: Children, end hour (it) is.
This last hour has lasted for more than nineteen hundred years and the end is nowhere in sight! It is even longer than what the Psalm and the second epistle of Peter say:
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. (Psalm 90:4)
But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8).
In 1947, atomic scientists set a Doomsday Clock at 11:53 p.m. Mid-night means a nuclear annihilation of the world. Sixty years later in 2007, it was 11:55p.m. Is 1 minute equivalent to 30 years, and does 1 hour mean 1800 years? Pretty close to John's scale. But historically, this Doomsday Clock has been set forward and backward many times, depending on the prospect of nuclear annihilation to mankind. Therefore, this last hour may suddenly end or it may last forever. Now, on the last day of 2008, it is appropriate for us to reflect on this last hour.
2008 has been a year of turmoil. I have no intention to review what happened in the economical, political and social spheres on this planet. All the TV stations have already spoon-fed us with their interpretations of all these things happened around us. We are passive, on the receiving end. There is nothing we can do about these big things. We cannot undo the Sichuan earthquake or the mini-bond crisis. Nor can we, in one stroke, boost up the business morality of those greedy manufacturers who mixed melamine into milk powder. Neither can we stop the Israelite air-raids on Gaza.
If I sound very pessimistic, I am not though this is the general mood shared by most people.
When John wrote about the last hour, He was not pessimistic. Actually, all Christians of all ages, be they ages of persecution or prosperity, long for this last hour. While John was not pessimistic, he was acutely aware of the dangers threatening his community --- the rise of antichrists, with a small "a", not a capital "A". These antichrists are insiders who deny that Jesus is Christ (1 John 2:22). They would disintegrate John's community. Therefore, it is more accurate to describe John's mood as alarmed rather than pessismistic. Similarly, I am alarmed rather than pessimistic. We are rational beings. To make sense of our world, we believe that things don't just happen accidentally. Our existence is no accident (Rick Warren again!). So, I had better look closer home and count what I have done.
What have I done? Not much but this blog. I have nearly covered all the readings of the even-numbered years and I will continue with those of odd-numbered. May God help me fulfill this good will. See you next year.

Dear Lord, I would like to identify the purpose of my life. Shall I pursue perpetual deaconship or pay more attention to Symphorian? Show me the way. Amen.