Every day we have a chance to look out for many of the issues affecting the world around us. Issues stretching from natural disasters to wars and rumors of future wars have continued to be reported by major news networks such as Fox news, CNN and MSNBC news. Secular people today turn to these three or other news agencies for updates on what is happening in our nation, how U.S. leaders are addressing world events and our involvement in certain news reports.
The secular world is turning to the media for updates on what is happening in the world around us, but are we as God’s people making the effort to do likewise? Why should paying attention to what goes on in the rest of the world outside of Biola University be of any importance to us at all? Some do and some don’t care for hearing about news affecting our country and the global community. When all Biola students arrive on campus for our first semester here, we are told about what is known as the Biola Bubble.
It’s clear that in the Biola Bubble, we are easily able to shield ourselves from things happening in the outside world. Many university students at Biola and other schools are not paying attention to the news, and most are not even interested in it to begin with. Students may not want to stay updated on the news to avoid hearing about negative things happening.
Breaking free of the Biola Bubble
But what is the problem with this type of attitude? It’s an attitude that can render Christians hardhearted instead of striving to be a people who listen to the cry of a broken world. More importantly, it is potentially an act of disobedience to a command given by Jesus in Matthew 24:42: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” This command was regarding the signs of the end times leading to his return, which we usually refer to as the second coming or the rapture.
During Biola University’s annual Missions Conference, the student body comes to learn about the issues affecting our brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe. These issues include persecution, wars and how the gospel is being proclaimed to almost every nation in the world — all of which are signs listed in Matthew 24:6-14. We have a conference on campus that delivers “news” to Biola students about what God is up to around the world. We also hear of other believers’ struggles, which can bring forth a passion for missionary work. Another passion arising from hearing this type of news could be an urgency to create an awareness group for a certain nation being affecting by a certain issue.
Staying informed through media
During biblical times, there wasn’t that much of an easy access to hearing about issues happening across Israel which were important to God for his people to hear about and understand. Most news of the issues happening throughout Israel and other parts of the world during those times were delivered through prophets God had chosen. In the world we live in now, we can only be moved by God’s Spirit to respond to an injustice if we first can hear of it. To do that now, we have to be willing to listen to news reports.
The news media can inform believers about issues that we should bring awareness to, but it is also important as a means of looking out for the signs and turning to God’s word to understand his perspective about these things. Since most Biola students don’t have access to cable television for watching the news, going to the websites of major news agencies can be an easier method for staying updated. Jesus is looking to see if believers in the universities are being watchful during this time. Mark 13:37 says: “What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!”
