Saturday, November 12, 2016
Matthew 24:42-44 Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
KEEP ALERT FOR HIS COMING
One vivid picture the Lord uses to illustrate the unexpected nature of His return at the end of the age is a thief breaking into a house in the middle of the night. The thief doesn't publicize when he is intending to commit his thievery. He carries out his plan at a time when he knows the homeowner will be caught unawares.
Similarly, Jesus has revealed to us that His second coming will occur when the citizens of earth least expect it. They'll be carrying on normal everyday activities like surfing the internet, shopping for groceries, watching sports events, raking leaves in the front yard, working at the office. Then, in the twinkle of an eye, the Lord will draw the final curtain on the stage of world history. He'll descend from heaven, burn up the world with fire, consign the godless to hell’s misery, but receive His faithful into heaven's lovely mansions.
The urgent lesson for us is that we live in a state of perpetual readiness, with our eyes of faith fixed on our Savior, looking to His cross for forgiveness, expecting His return to happen this very day. Scripture counsels us: "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, Make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him" (2 Peter 3:11-14). "You, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day ... Since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 4:4-5, 7-9).
Therefore let us watch and pray,
Knowing He will hear us
As we see from day to day
Dangers ever near us,
And the end Doth impend--
Our redemption neareth
When the Lord appeareth.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 446:6)
