In William Golding’s classic tale, ‘Lord of the Flies’ a party of school children find themselves shipwrecked on a small island. In the absence of any adult authority, their fledgling community soon descends into chaos, as selfishness and survival of the fittest quickly become the defining characteristics of their life together. As the book builds to a climax one of the boys is running for his life, only seconds away from being murdered when he runs headlong into an adult – a sailor who has been attracted by the fire the boys have started. Instantly order is restored and the threat to the boy’s life vanishes. They are after all just children – the arrival of this adult restores a proper perspective.
This longing for the arrival of an authority figure who will restore order to the world characterises much of the Old Testament. For Christians his name is Jesus, who stepped into the world 2,000 years ago, to begin a process of recreation that will be completed when he steps in again at the end of time. What a wonderful day that will be!
