It's May 22nd and to few people's surprise, no cataclysmic event occurred yesterday to mark the beginning of the end. Truth be told many people did some soul searching as a result of the hype generated by some guy in N Cal (I don't remember his name and don't care to). I don't know enough about this guy to know if he's the religious version of Donald Trump or maybe he's sincere. What I do know is that he was wrong and if he lived in ancient times he'd have been stoned as a false prophet (I'll limit my response to simple ridicule.)
What matters most is that we are all well prepared for the imminent return of Christ. What the late night comedians failed to realize as they were making fun of this prediction is that Christ could have come on Wednesday last week...or while I'm in the middle of writing this entry for that matter. They make fun of him because they think the idea of Christ's return is silly. I make fun of him for Theological reasons - the Bible is clear that NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY. But make no mistake, the reality of his return is not silly.
Since we don't know the day, we have to be prepared just like when the boss says he may stop by some time this week for a surprise inspection or the teacher says be ready for a pop quiz at any time. Are you ready for Christ to return at any moment? We knew he wouldn't come Saturday because so many people were expecting it. However, no one expects it in 5 minutes or maybe tomorrow.
Preparation for his coming begins with faith in His Son Jesus. To trust Jesus as the only avenue to God and to ask him for forgiveness of sins is the beginning. We must also believe that Jesus took the punishment for our sins and that he rose from the dead. This faith invites God's Spirit to indwell us and make us a part of God's family. From that point forward we prepare for his coming by following his leading - to serve him and to turn from the sins and moral pitfalls that beset us.
When I stand before him I want to be able to say that I have believed in His Son Jesus (John chapter 3) and have followed him as best I can. I want him to say to me, "Well done good and faithful servant, enter into your master's happiness (Mat 25:21.)"
I also found myself a little wrapped up in it all and began to think "am I worthy to be raptured" I found myself stricken with fear of the rapture, I knew it wouldn't happen Saturday May 21st, but I also know it will happen, and that terrifies me! I'm not sure why, but I will be doing some serious reflecting on why. I feel like I should be excited about it, maybe fear is normal? I don't know.
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