We stand just 19 days away from a significant time change in human history that has been only observed once before - the change to a new millennium, Year 2000, or Y2K as it's commonly called.  Although many, including myself, say the new millennium won't begin until 2001, so many people believe it will happen in 19 days that we might as well go along with them.  And never mind that the birth of Jesus happened in 5 BC, so the real Y2K happened already four years ago.

          To me an interesting aspect of the coming year change is that we all can say we lived in two centuries and even two millennia.  My father and mother were both born before the turn of the 20th century and lived in two centuries.  Something about that fascinated our family.  Perhaps those born after Year 2000 will think us special, products of two centuries, like I thought of my parents.

          What makes this time change significant is not so much the date as the technology surrounding it.  One invention - the computer - governs our daily lives more than any other.  We have given so much of our lives over to computers that we're unsure right now if they'll help us or hurt us in the change from "99" to "00."  People have imagined their financial portfolios disappearing, reverting back to 1900, when none of us here were yet born.  And if the computers don't "think" we're born yet, then they may treat our money as if it doesn't exist and simply erase it.

          To insure this won't happen, billions of dollars have been spent, and extraordinary measures have been taken, but still many people don't trust electronics.  They have taken measures into their own hands, buying generators because they think electricity will fail, storing food and water because utilities will fail, converting their assets into gold and silver because Wall Street will fail, and buying weapons to protect themselves from the coming chaos.  So many generators have been ordered that catalogs now refuse to accept them back.  You bought it, you got it, and don't try to return it.  That already shows skepticism that Y2K will really be a problem.

          Some have said Y2K will be the biggest non-event in human history, greeted with a big yawn, and that our fears will prove unfounded.  Personally, I agree with that, and yet if enough people believe something will happen, they could make it happen.  If enough people fear financial collapse and remove their money from circulation, they could cause a major financial upheaval.  If enough people panic, their panic could spread.  But again I doubt that will happen.

          What about Christians?  How should we live and act in the coming days?  How did Christians handle the change from 999 to 1000?  As Y1K approached, Christians feared the end of the world.  When midnight mass was celebrated at the Vatican on Dec. 31, 999, most there believed the Apocalypse would scorch the earth that night.  But nothing happened, just as I believe nothing will happen Dec. 31, 1999, beyond perhaps some scorched brains from too much partying.

          In Year 1000, Viking longboats raided cultures from Russia to the Americas, and the religion of Islam extended its influence through Asia, Africa and the Middle East.  The Song dynasty ruled China with an iron fist, and warring Indian tribes jostled for supremacy.  Starvation, illiteracy, poor transportation, war, disease and slavery were all part of everyday life.  The global population was 300 million and life expectancy was in the low thirties.  People probably thought things couldn't get much worse than they were.

          Yet the new millennium brought unimaginable advances in every phase of life.  Today we have 20 times that population and people live into their 70's.  Rapid advances in science and technology, genetics and communications startle even the most scientific of minds.  We're moving faster, but with a more shallow existence.  We have more but enjoy it less.  We are moving towards a religion-free society and yet people are starving for meaning in life.  What does it all mean?

          What does God want from us, His people today?  St. Paul has a good word:  "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.  The night is nearly over;  the day is almost here.  So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light."

          We Christians sleep too much.  There's a whole world dying around us in unbelief and we're asleep in our comfortable beds.  Sometimes our bed is called financial security, and sometimes it's called busyness.  Sometimes it's the bed of fun and pleasure, but whatever it's called, we're asleep in it.  We may think we're awake, but when it comes to witnessing to a world lost in sin, most of us act like we're sleeping.  St. Paul says it's time to wake up!  "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed."

          You can't get ready for something if you're asleep.  How does God want us to get ready for Year 2000?  Simple - in the same way He wants us to get ready for any day of any year - by Faith, by Prayer, and by Service.  Luther said that if he knew the world would end tomorrow, he'd still plant a tree today.  In other words, live today as if it were your last.  Do things that show your faith and trust in God.  Do the things that need to be done for the welfare of others.

          In Paul's day, people thought the world would end soon, so some early Christians just quit working.  So Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."  He meant slackers who used the times as an excuse should be penalized and held accountable.  No matter what day it is, we must keep working.  You and I must keep doing the things God has called us to do, and in faith trust God will provide for all our needs.

          Some Christians today are really showing their lack of faith.  A Lutheran couple I know has stocked up on food essentials, bought guns and ammo, and converted all their assets into gold nailed into the floorboards of their house.  So certain are they of social chaos that they have taken such extreme measures.  Not surprisingly, their house has already been robbed twice by people who know their plans.  God has not called us to be stupid, but to be faithful.  No matter what will happen in Year 2000, God will still be God, and we will still need to trust Him, and rely on His divine providence.

          Our Lord Jesus calls us to trust Him, no matter what day it is.  He loves us and has given His life for us.  He rose again to give us hope and a future.  He hears and answers our prayers every day, no matter who we are.  He wants us to trust Him every day for everything.

          So how can we get ready for Year 2000?  Faith, Prayer and Service - these will prepare us more for Y2K than all the manuals, food, generators, gold or guns ever will.  Everything in our life begins and ends with faith in God.  If we trust Him for eternal life, why shouldn't we trust Him for our daily life?  If we do our work today, serving Him in our jobs, homes and communities, why will we not do the same on January 1, 2000 or on January 1, 2001?

          Everything in the Christian life begins and ends with faith, but prayer is a central part of our faith.  If there's one thing Christians need do to more, it's pray.  And not just pray for God to give us things.  God is not a vending machine.  We owe Him more than to treat Him like one.  Because of Jesus we owe Him our very lives, and should praise and adore Him for that fact.  If our prayers to God show we treat Him as only a Divine Answer Man, we have missed the point of faith.

          Our prayers should contain four elements:  Adorations, Confessions, Thanksgivings and Supplications.  The first letters of these spell ACTS.  Prayer is the central act of our faith and worship. If we're not praying, something is wrong with our faith.  You and I can't have a relationship with our kids or parents if we never talk to them.  So also we can't have a relationship with God if we never talk to Him.  Prayer is talking to God.  Let's not talk in our sleep (I talk in others' sleep).

          Paul tells us this morning, "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed."  We all need to wake up.  Recently I've found my days and nights a little mixed up.  Maybe it's because I have a home office and can walk downstairs and work at any hour of the day.  But I sometimes find myself napping during the day because I've been working too late.  Paul says wake up!  Get your life in order!  Salvation is nearer now than ever.  It will be nearer still on January 1, 2000.  Let's not be sleeping when He comes!

          So, my friends, don't get alarmed about the future, because it's all in His hands.  Year 2000 may bring some surprises, but nothing God and you can't handle together.  There's nothing in all creation that can separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus.

          Remember the words of St. Paul (Romans 8:35-39):  "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  ...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

          Nothing can separate us from God's love - it's His guarantee.  Amen!

Copyright © 1999 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.