When we travel I like to look at the mile markers on the Interstate from time to time. I try to imagine walking that mile or I just like to see the miles stack up, for progress' sake. I also like the signs that say how many miles it is till our destination. It's just a way to measure the progress we've made in our travels and gives me something to occupy my time. Car/motion sickness limits what I can focus on when traveling as a passenger, which is most of the time, since my husband drives 99% of the time when we are on road trips. These are just markers along the way, they help to measure the distance and let's us know we're getting closer to our destination!
There are events in life that make me pause and think about where I've been and where I'm going in this life. I hope this isn't a mid life crisis thing- although I don't think so, because I've done this for as long as I can remember every New Years Eve. OK, side notes aside. I known hose of us that are Mothers are like this with our children, every first day of school, the baby pictures taken in monthly increments and so on. Which leads me to my son, Michael, as he enters High School! And I am kicking and screaming, "I want my baby back!"
But time keeps moving forward or as I've heard the expression, "Time waits for no man". Jesus gave a command to His disciples that I believe applies to all Christians today, He said occupy till I return. Going back to my childhood, I remember my brother, Doug, getting a sticker from attending VBS which was meant to help him remember what they had studied. It said, "Occupy till I return" -Jesus The reason I remember that sticker and what it said so well, is because Doug stuck it on his dresser and it remained there for years! I think God was telling us something, even as children! I can also remember as a family listening to cassette tapes of sermons regarding the end times. I can't vouch for my brother, but I grew up with this expectancy that Jesus is coming back and we'd better be ready and we have a tall order to fill, to occupy till he returns.
Matthew 24 gives many signs of when Jesus will return. Jesus finishes the discussion up with a story or what we call a parable (something from ordinary life that teaches us about God and His kingdom) Jesus talks about the owner of an estate returning and the way he finds his servants when he returns. This parable is found in Matthew 24:45-51 NLT
““A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? The master will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 24:45-51 NLT
If the servant knew when his master would return he wouldn't be wasting time, getting drunk, throwing wild parties etc... With our own lives, we have A choice, we can write off Jesus' return by saying, "people have been saying that for years". Or we can take it seriously and be busy following where God wants us to serve, doing what He wants us to do! I will say this, if you are not ready for Jesus' return there is not better time to get ready than now!
Simply and honestly, the prophesies are coming about just like the mile markers show the progress we make in our travels. If we look at prophecies as foretold in the Scripture, like in Matthew chapter 24, we are getting closer and closer to when Jesus comes back! How will he find you and I when He returns? What am I, what are you doing in order to occupy till He returns?
