Advent 1:7. 7 December 2013

image by Siddhartha Sarkar

by Teaching Pastor Eric Thompson

"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."

Matthew 24:36-44

     You also must be ready.

     Anyone who flies knows what a hassle airport security is. To the casual traveler much of the rule and regulation seems like overkill. I remember shortly after 9/11 a little white-haired elderly lady being pulled out of line for a random screening.

     Yet terror threats have proven all too real. Any weakness in the security front would be exploited to bring the destruction of countless lives. So rules, regulations, shoes in the bin and laptops out of their cases it is.

     Because the return of Jesus is imminent but the time unknown, we are to be in a constant state of readiness. In this case our readiness is not to prevent calamity, but to show his love as witnesses of the Gospel in a broken world. It is an amazing testimony to the power of the Gospel that followers of Jesus live by it day by day while waiting for his coming, be it tomorrow or perhaps not even in our lifetime.

Take some time to consider the following. Perhaps it would be helpful to record your responses in a journal.

     What do you do day by day because Jesus is coming? What could you do - what person could you share with, what conflict could be resolved, etc.?

Here is a prayer in response to today's text. You can pray this as your own or use it as a prompt for a spontaneous prayer.

     Because of what is promised, we are called to live in expectation. Show me what I might do to make your glory known.