We are living in the last days. For over 2000 years, ever since Jesus was crucified and resurrected we have been living in the last days. Many books, countless sermons, hours of television shows, and millions of dollars have been made by those seeking to understand and pinpoint when the Second Coming of Christ will be. Some people have made careers out of reading the Bible, finding hidden meanings and promising they have found the secret code that will finally interpret the signs and give us the date for the end of the world. Matthew 24 is one of the texts often cited along with Revelation. Here Jesus is speaking to His disciples, telling them signs and wonders they will see to know the end is near. Wars, rumors, earthquakes, false prophets, etc. Don’t get caught up. You see, the point Jesus is really making comes at the end of the chapter. Starting from vs 36 on. No one knows, not even the Son of Man. Only the Father.
Jesus is not giving us all these signs so that we will know when He is coming. All the signs listed we can see now. In fact, they were seen then. The point we really need to see is that He will come suddenly, any day now, and what will He find us doing? Vs 45-46 “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.” So, we are found doing the work to which we were commanded.
You may be saying to yourself “What could possibly be wrong with knowing when He is coming back, it would give us time to prepare?” Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m like the wicked servant Jesus warns us about in vs. 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.” I am a procrastinator by nature, and Christ gives me a strong warning about procrastination here.
I pray He finds me faithfully and obediently doing His work when He returns.
Today’s author: Lane Owens
First Thoughts 