What If?
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 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.”
What if? What if “that day and hour” were next week? Tomorrow? Today? Would we be ready? Do we live as though He could return in the next thirty seconds, or do we think, “Ah, it’s been over two thousand years already; it’s probably going to be quite a few more. No sense worrying about it…”? Are we currently – at any given moment – doing life in a way that brings Him honor? Are we doing what He has called us to do, living how He has called us to live?
Mt 24:45-47 – “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.”
If Jesus comes tomorrow, will He find us taking care of His household? Will He find us:
Providing for and protecting our family?
Teaching, guiding, caring for and nurturing our children?
Loving our spouse well (see Eph 5:22-33)?
Being a spiritual leader in the home?
Will He find us doing our jobs/working “as for the Lord?” (Col 3:23,24) Will He find us sharing our faith with a neighbor or coworker? Will He find us reading/studying the Bible? Or will He find us “partying with the drunkards,” pursuing worldly passions and interests, thinking, “I’ll straighten up when it seems like His coming is imminent.”?
Mt 24:48-51 – “But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
There may be no warning (see Mt 24:44 above). It could (and probably will) happen at a moment when we least expect it. So, what if? What if Jesus appeared one night, out of the blue, and in an instant, you found the King of kings standing next to you? Would you quickly change the channel? Would you nervously close the browser? Would you hurriedly hit the “home” button on your phone? (Do not be fooled; He sees it, anyway.) Would He find you arguing, or being disrespectful to one another? Children and young people, would He find you honoring your parents, or would He find you being rebellious and showing contempt for them (Eph 6:1-3)? What if He appeared in the seat next to you in your car during rush hour traffic?
While these questions should make us think about how we are living our lives at any given moment, they should NOT be used to paint a distorted picture of God or His intentions. He is not waiting around the corner ready to pounce on any of His disobedient children. He is not eagerly waiting to “catch” us doing something wrong. On the contrary, He eagerly desires to have fellowship with us, and for us to experience the pure joy of being in His presence. This is clearly expressed in Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast.
Mt 22:1-4 – And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’
He just wants us to be ready. Right after the above passage in chapter 24 of Matthew’s gospel, he records Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins (see Mt 25:1-13). Five were prepared and had extra oil for their lamps and were welcomed in; five were not ready – and were left outside.
Does this mean we should be studying the Bible, or praying, or evangelizing every single moment of every day? No, of course not. He has given each of us different gifts and talents, desires and passions, and work to do (all for His glory) during our brief time here on earth. But in the midst of doing those things, we should have an awareness of, and a readiness for His return. Our “background processor” should be keeping our spiritual radar active, keeping our vision enhanced through the lens of His Kingdom, and keeping our hearts open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Consider this: If someone works for or volunteers for some type of emergency service, they do not get drunk, incapacitated, or otherwise compromised when they know that they will be on duty or on call. They know that they must be ready in an instant to respond to an emergency call. Are they actively saving someone or putting out a fire every single minute? No. But they must be ready every single minute.
Are we ready? At any given moment, do we have an ear/eye open to spiritual matters or Kingdom concerns? If Jesus were to show up in the next instant, right next to us, would we respond with panic, or with extreme joy?
Prayer
Father, help us to live as though we are ready for Your arrival. Help us to not be overwhelmed by the worries and distractions of this world, but rather help us to live every moment of our lives in a way that brings You glory and honor. May our lamps not run out of oil as we eagerly await Your return, our gracious Savior, King, and Lord. Amen.
