By
Allen White
“But about that day or hour no one knows,
not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in
the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days
before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what
would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will
be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be
taken and the other left. Two women will
be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know
on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house
had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch
and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready,
because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
“Who
then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the
servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will
be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly
I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that
servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’
and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with
drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not
expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and
assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. Matthew 24:36-51
Many believers could care less about when Christ returns. If you
think that’s too strong of a statement, then let me ask you this: did you think
about Jesus’ return today? Most of us didn’t.
Honestly, I’ve heard for 47 years now that Christ will return at
any time. Guess what? He hasn’t returned yet.
When I was a teenager, our church choir would sing a very dramatic
song about Jesus’ return. I remember we would sing, “What if this would be the
moment (insert pregnant pause) that Jesus comes?” In that second, that
twinkling of an eye, you might have thought it would take place.
I remember as a child waking up around 10 or 11 pm worried about
my family going to Heaven if the rapture took place. I went from bedside to
bedside to make sure everyone was right with God just in case. I haven’t asked
that question in a while.
After 40 years as a Christian, it’s a little challenging to keep
the momentum going. Yes, it could be any day. If we were under persecution,
we’d cry out to God for that day to be today. But, honestly, we’ve all become a
little bit comfortable. Heaven seems like a far off place.
Every one of us tends to drift. That child who so earnestly sought
out the spiritual condition of his family members is a little more secure and a
lot less vigilant than he once was.
How about you? If Jesus returned today, what do you wish you would
have done beforehand? I’m not talking about a self-indulgent bucket list. Who
would you have served? Who would you have shown God’s love to? Who would you
have shared the Gospel with?
More from Allen
White: allenwhite.org
Facebook: Galatians419 Group
Twitter: @galatians419 @allenwhite
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