SWORD OF THE SPIRIT                                                                                               1135

“When the Master Returns”

Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. – Luke 12:35-36

I don’t know about you but the Lord has impressed upon me of late the importance of being found ready when He returns. Perhaps it is because of the pandemic and the sudden loss of friends, acquaintances and loved ones that makes me more aware of how fragile and short our life is on earth.

You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” – Luke 12:40

An additional contributor to this heightened sense of anticipation of the Lord’s return is the rapid and escalating moral decay of our world society as we increasingly morph into a global Sodom and Gomorrah. We need to be ready, dressed in the armor of light when He comes.

The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. – Romans 13:12

No one can say when the Lord will return for you individually or collectively for His church as a whole. The Word of God warns us not to listen to anyone who tells you otherwise.

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. – Matthew 24:36

Some sense the imminent return of the Lord and surprisingly feel cheated because of all the things of this world that they have yet to experience and enjoy. Eternity with our Father and His Son, Jesus holds so much more than anything this world has to offer. We must be careful not to love the world or the things of this world so much that they become a stumbling block to us.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. – 1 John 2:15

We must live each moment of each day abiding in Him and in eager anticipation of His return.

…Christ…will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. – Hebrews 9:28 – 1 John 2:28 – Matthew 25:13 – Matthew 24:27

This does not mean that we are to be idle, huddled in a cloistered commune awaiting His return. No, rather we are to be busy living, working, serving and actively proclaiming the Gospel message in word, deed, and lifestyle example. It is good for us for the Master to see us as faithful servants when He returns.

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. – Matthew 24:45-46

Will you be found ready when His sudden knock comes at the door of your life or when the trumpet sounds and He calls us to meet Him the air?

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Thessalonians 5:23