The Seventh of an On-going
Series
Only the Father Knows When Christ Will
Return
(Matthew 25:13)
The
Imminent Return of Christ (b)
The early church grasped the meaning of the interim: it is the season of God’s patience and of the
church’s mission. Believer applied
themselves whole-heartedly to the gospel task and experienced no emotional or
intellectual crisis over the Lord’s delay.
There is no hint in the preaching
of the apostles that they expected nineteen centuries to elapse before the Lord
would return to Earth. In this sense it
is true that we live in an unexpected, unforeseen time. However, attempts at pinning down prophecy
and predictions to our own time are all the more incredible. God’s freedom and His way of surprising us by
how He fulfills prophecy call us to cling to His promise and t remain
constantly ready for the return of the Lord Jesus at any moment. The apostles were not confounded by the
tension os living in and being engaged with the present, yet knowing that the
present is passing away.
To the church in Rome, Paul wrote that "the whole creation" in
all its suffering, futility, bondage, and decay (now in the birth pang of its
labor), waits eagerly for the "glorious liberty of the children of God"
to take place – literally "to be apocalypsed" (Rom. 8:19-23). This healthy vision is worthy of being
embraced again today by believers who may be weary of attempts at frantic
Christian living driven by human systems of prophey. The early church:
1.
Lived and
believed Jesus was coming at any moment;
2.
Loved and served
as though He might not come in their lifetime; and
3.
Clearly saw the
transience of a world in decay and the glory of a gospel gaining in ascendance.
Be prepared,
Playwright Janet Irene Thomas
Founder/President/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts
No comments:
Post a Comment