Dooms Day

The other day, at the coffee shop, I was waiting on a customer when I heard the cafe start bustling with laughter and chatter... and at the same time... anger and outrage. What the heck was going on? People started to get up and go to the windows to see what was happening outside. I too went to windows. And this is what I saw:

 15 (or more) buses/RV's rolling through town with the same advertisement on them. The advertisement was surely done professionally. A lot of money was put into this. And in BOLD letters across the entirety of the vehicle was written this:

And I kid you not. 

I wonder how much money and time and thought went into doing this? I wonder if you were to talk to them... sit down and have a conversation... how much of their energy went into "Dooms Day"? 

-Calculating the exact moment of "The End". 

-Finding the verses in the Bible that back up their notion.

-advertising.

-preparing for the end.

I would imagine a whole lot. 

I would imagine that much of their existence was found in this endeavor. 

And then I thought... 

what if... May 22nd comes?

What do they do when that happens?

Is their faith destroyed? 

Do they question their existence... since so much of their existence was found in this? 

And I think back to reading something that stuck with me. It was something like this:

Faith can't be a brick wall. 

It's more than that. 

It's more than doctrines... it's more than words. It's more than the written language.

More than ideas. More than facts. 

And if it isn't more than that... then what happens when the thing we have faith in falls to the ground? 

What if May 22nd comes? 

The beautiful young lady I was waiting on while these buses were passing by, asked two questions as she watched in perplexity:

"Is that what they are telling their children?"

And then she said something else: 

"What if they are right?" 

And as she left the cafe... I thought that those two questions were really, really good.

The first question ponders the kinds of implications that "belief system" would have on this world.

And the second question ponders the complexity of the unknown.

I felt that there was wisdom and humility in her questions.

And that's a good place to be.