It's Not Just A Story

Most of us have been raised hearing about the return of Jesus. Among the earliest of my memories are those that deal with Jesus coming back. I remember that, because I didn’t know who Jesus was and my brother said he was going to reach out from the radio as I walked by and grab me. My first memories of Jesus were those of fear. That is the same brother who used to tell me that I was adopted – and my parents were secretly thinking about giving me back!

It was good news to find out he was just kidding, but the very best news of all is that Jesus is coming back. Unfortunately, this remains just a story to many Christians. They cannot relate to it personally because they have not wrapped their minds around it to understand it. This news ends up being more like fantasy than reality, and this causes them to completely miss the power they could otherwise have through Christ Jesus.

We have this incredible message of grace that can be realized through faith, yet we read it and the meaning doesn’t sink in. We know that God is real, and we know that Jesus is the promised Savior. We know everything the story tells us about Him. We even know that Jesus is going to be coming back someday, but we do not live our lives like the story is real. We don’t even live our lives like we even believe the story.

I think the reason we are like that is because we have a problem with eyesight. As humans, we are nearsighted. We focus on today because that is all we see. We live for today because today is here. And we forget about our eternities. Eternity is this vague thing that many of us do not understand, and none of us can see, so we put it on the back shelves of our minds, intending to get into it later. But the elusive “later” never arrives.

Jesus is tarrying. He is delaying His return so that we might have every chance to get ready; to help and encourage others; and to build His kingdom. And we think we have all kinds of time. But, in reality – do we have all kinds of time?

MATTHEW 24:42 says,

‘Therefore, keep watch – because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.’

The Bible is telling us that instead of living like the Second Coming will eventually happen, we should be living like it will happen.

1. BE WISE

There is a song that goes; “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through.” We are here for a very short stay and then we will be on our way to our final destination; eternity. And that has to do with the biggest problem Christians have. We are here for a very short time, yet we act like this is all there is.

We look at our present life as all there is because the physical is all we know. Since most people can only count on that which they can see, touch, feel, and hear, they will end up missing any chance they could have had through faith to choose Heaven as their eternal destination. And, of course, the only alternative when we are talking about forever is hell.

These people who do their level best today to ignore the call of Jesus will burn forever but will never be consumed. To get a picture of what that is like, light a candle and hold your finger right above the flame for just 5 seconds - if you can. The pain is excruciating, isn’t it? Now think about your whole body going through that - every day, all day long with no let up; with no reprieve; with no stopping.

Those who do acknowledge Jesus as the lead in their life, however, will be spending eternity in Heaven with Him, because of God’s powerful mercy and grace. So, the question now becomes, “ How many of us will be wise and choose His gift?”

Many of us go through life looking at our Christian life as a side dish, or a hobby, as we take care of our worldly priorities. God expects everything in our lives to be centered on Jesus Christ. That includes every relationship you have. And that includes your total commitment. God will not reward a ‘casual Christian’, because they have not made a total commitment to submit their lives to Him.

It is a human trait to be superficial. Very few people, including Christians, have ever spent any real time at all thinking about “how” they life. For instance, if someone were to ask you to explain how you know you are a Christian, how would you answer them? Most people would say something like –