The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 12:40,
"You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
Jesus told his disciples to be ready at any time for his return. He says he will come at a time when he will not be expected. Those he finds prepared and watching for his coming will have good when he comes. In fact, he says he will have them recline at the table and wait on them!
Later in an exchange with Peter about this, he says, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 1248b. We need to be faithful with what the Lord has equipped us with as we await his return.
His return is what occupies my thoughts this morning. Christianity and being a follower of Jesus Christ is not a dusty, dry religion from a past age. It is a relationship with a living Savior who is poised to return to planet earth just as he came two millenia ago. When he comes, he will come to take those that have embraced him into his family while gathering up all others for a horrific fiery lake of burning sulfur.
Because of this, being a follower of Jesus Christ is to be a part of something that is more current than today's news. In that we participate in something that is busily transpiring as I write this and will find its fulfillment at any point looking ahead, it is as fresh and new as tomorrow's coming dawn. Yes, its roots reach back to a bygone era, but it blossoms in newness every day and will come to full bloom at a time we look ahead to. We don't know when that will be, but his coming is as certain as the events that unfold today.
I am reminded of Paul's reassuring words in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18, "We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words."
As Jesus was leaving here to ascend to heaven, we read in Acts 1:9-11, "After he [Jesus] said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'"
Just like an unstoppable freight train that has already left the station and is barreling down the tracks right at us, so the Son of Man is headed our way, unstoppable and unalterable. May we all be ready!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
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