Issue 1329 – Waiting – December 27, 2023
It’s December 27; we are in that strange gap in the holiday season. The hubbub of Christmas is behind us, but it isn’t quite time to celebrate the coming of the New Year.
It’s a microcosm of the Christian faith. Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection are behind us, but we haven’t yet come to the time of His return. Like New Year’s Eve, we know it is imminent, but we can’t do anything to speed it up.
Admittedly, the time between the first and second coming is much longer than the seven days between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, but on the scale of eternal time and human history, it is just a blink of an eye.
So we wait, not always patiently, but His promised arrival is out of our control. We know it will happen, but we have no idea when.
Many have tried calculating his return date and made proclamations that they have figured it out, but all have been wrong. That is no surprise; even Jesus said, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” [Matthew 24:36.]
The second coming is imminent, meaning that Jesus could burst forth onto the scene suddenly, at any time. He could return before the new year or not until the next millennium.
So then, what are we supposed to do in this extended waiting period?
Everything He commanded us to do. We stay alert and live our lives as servants of the Most High King each day to the best of our ability.
Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:42-44
The simple truth is that we don’t need to know the day and hour the Lord will return. If we did, the Word would have told us.
We live our lives knowing that He will return at some point, and our lives as believers and eternal destiny are firmly held in His hands.
Am I curious to know what that date might be? Of course, I am. Do I lose sleep over wondering about it? No.
My faith is in the one who will return. That is sufficient.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the Glory of God alone)
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).
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