If Jesus Came Today

One of the challenges of living as a Christian is wondering when Christ will return. I received a comment on yesterday’s blog that the Church should teach Revelation more because people do not know the prophecies. I’m guessing that would mean that more people would live as Christians if they ‘knew’ what God’s plan was, and when He was coming. Unfortunately, we will never know when, just that He is coming to judge us and to save us.

What would you do, though, if you ‘knew’ Jesus was going to return this today, in just a few hours? How would you change your life? Would you change your life? I believe that is the essence of the question about Revelation, so I thought today I would summarize the message of Revelation. Ready? …

God is coming. Be ready because He won’t like lukewarm believers.

If we live prepared to greet Him, does it really matter whether we know the prophecies? It just a couple days ago in the Gospel reading for the day that we were reminded we would see wars and tumults, but the end was not going to be immediate. We were also told even the Son does not know when He will return, so why be preoccupied with trying to predict. Just be ready.

Think of this way. A loved relative whom you have not seen in years calls and tells you he is on his way to see you. He isn’t sure exactly when he will arrive, but he is coming and is looking forward to spending time with you. Do you prepare a room for him, or go out with your friends figuring when he arrives you will ‘do what you can’ to get his room prepared? Of course, you would clean the house, prepare his room, and even do a little extra shopping to make sure you have refreshments to offer him when he arrives. Even if he calls to say he is stuck in traffic, we wait prepared to greet him.

Why don’t we act the same way about Jesus? He said He was coming but wasn’t sure when. Why can’t we just clean the house, prepare a room for Him in our heart, and be ready to greet Him? Instead, we go about our day as if He isn’t coming because He’s been delayed. Then we read about the lives of saints such as Saint Eudokia the Samaritan, who had lived a very questionable life before becoming a Christian. When she learned about Jesus and his promise, she repented from her sinful life and gave everything for Christ. You can read a brief story about her life here.

The point is my brothers and sisters, we need to start living as if Christ is coming today. So what if He is delayed and we have to wait until tomorrow. We are in the season of cleaning our house, preparing His room and getting ready to greet Him. Stop worrying about predicting when, and just be ready.