the sun will be darkened,
the moon will
give no light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers
in the heavens will be shaken.
Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the
clouds with great power and glory. And
he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from
the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
I
remember as a child in Sunday School learning about the details in the reading above. Someday, Jesus will appear in the sky and
everyone will see Him. His army of
angels will gather all us Christians from everywhere an take us to heaven to be
with Him forever. I also remember
constantly being reminded that this could happen any day. Even now, decades later, I think about those
images anytime I take time to notice the clouds and sky. I find myself rehearsing what I was taught
all those years ago; “it could happen any day.”
I also think about the fact that Jesus’s followers have been doing the
same thing I’ve been doing for two thousand years now. Someday, we will all be together with Jesus.
Jesus
used imagery from the prophets Isaiah and Daniel to paint this picture of His
return. In Revelation, we have another
version of how the return of Jesus will happen that uses quite different
imagery. Other visions of the return of
Jesus have been offered throughout the New Testament as well. Even more writings
were offered that never made it into the Bible. Though the details across all
of these accounts vary greatly, they all end with the same result. Jesus and all His people will be gathered together.
Even as
a child, I wondered how everyone all over the world could see Jesus in the
clouds at the same time. But to think
that way misses the point. The point is
that we all get to be together with Jesus someday. This is where history is headed no matter
what it might seem like in our uncertain times.
Though I still think about Jesus every time I look toward the clouds, I
don’t care if the result comes about in exactly that way. I just work at reminding myself about the end
of the story. I work at trusting that
the God who will bring it all about is moving it toward that glorious
ending.
Question: What is the
picture that you hold in your head and heart regarding the return of Jesus?
Prayer: Lord, come
quickly. Help us to trust you in the
meantime and be ready when You come to gather us. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for the people of Turkey in the wake of the disastrous earthquake a few days
ago.
Song: The Great Day – Michael W. Smith
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