December 13

“...consider what the angel declared to the disciples on the Mount of Olives, while they looked toward the heavens where a cloud had just received their Lord out of their sight:  ‘This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’.....It is striking to notice that the Lord’s exhortations to holiness of life are always based, not on the fear of death, but on the hope of his return and its unexpectedness.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, Daily Secrets, 11/29

I’ve only known one Christian who lived this way and she just recently went to be with the Lord.  She often spoke of Jesus’ return and her longing to be with Him.  When her time came she did not go immediately, but I think this was for her family.  This thought has brought to mind a clearer focus on how we should be living our lives.  Not only should I be looking forward to Jesus’ return and be living as though it could be in this next moment, but I also should be ready to leave unexpectedly. Have I left anything undone?  There are the practical issues like where to find important papers or making sure I have not left a mess of things for someone to sort through.  But more importantly did they know I loved them and had I done everything to be a witness of God’s love to them?  I may not be given a chance to correct these oversights.   If I’m living my life in the hope of Jesus’ unexpected return, I can be at peace about my unexpected leave-taking!  May I grasp this in my heart so that I may live it.

“Lo, I am coming like a thief!  Blessed is he who is awake, keeping his garments that he may not go naked and be seen exposed!”  Revelations 16:15