Living in the End Times; Does it really matter?

I have heard this for a number of years -- "We are living in the end times!"

It always comes from well meaning Christians that think they are well versed in end time prophesy and view all of the bad things in life as signs of the last days. But does it really matter?

The simple truth is that, for any one of us, the last day could be today. If the idea that we are living in the end times motivates fellow believers to share the gospel, I guess that is a good thing, but let's face it --
   1) Life has no guarantee for tomorrow
   2) Most of them aren't going to share the gospel anyways.

Their cry of living in the end times becomes a story of the boy that cried, "Wolf!"

Whether the end of time comes tomorrow or the life of an individual ends tomorrow, the results will be the same.
In Missouri this past weekend, there were a number of deaths from weather related traffic accidents and there were a number of people murdered. I'm sure that there were other natural deaths, deaths from disease, or other deaths from other unexpected causes.

For each person that didn't live to see Monday, it was the same as if Jesus raptured His church.

Around the country, people have been making their preparations for winter storms. NASCAR fans are making plans to watch next week's race, baseball fans are ready for the season to begin and basketball fans and hockey fans are preparing for the end of their seasons. We save money and make plans for retirement. We save for our kids' educations. We make all kinds of plans for the future and give no thought to eternity.

What will happen to you when this life is over?
Do you believe in an afterlife?
If so, how are you preparing for it?

If you haven't been following Out of My Hat for very long, you need to know that I believe that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. I believe that when He said that no one comes to the Father except through Him, He was telling it like it is...No one gets to heaven except through Jesus!

I don't know what your beliefs about heaven and hell are. I don't know what plans you are making for the afterlife. But I do know that you need to give it some thought, and you need to have a reasonable amount of faith that you've got it right.

I'm open to your thoughts and comments on the subject. I am not going to get in a fight with you over your beliefs and I will not be disrespectful towards you. I moderate all comments so I won't allow anyone else to be disrespectful, either.
Please, feel free to weigh in with your end time thoughts or your thoughts on what follows this life.

My thoughts are pretty simple.
God loves you.
Jesus died for you.

John <><