The long burning fuse

I noticed a pattern in several stories I read the past couple days, bringing to mind this passage:

For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. Matthew 24:5-7

Cynics say this state of affairs could apply to any generation, at any time. And in that, they are mostly correct. But they miss the larger point. The world is often referred to as a 'powder keg.' The end of Christ's ministry on earth lit a fuse, the length of which we are not permitted to know. The cyclical 'practice runs' for the main event serve to remind us not to cling to this world, which lives under a death sentence it largely chooses to ignore. When we read the headlines, we need neither cower nor exult, but merely give thanks to the One who'll see it all through to completion in His own good time.