In The Midst of Life

“And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:26-30 NASB)

I have heard over and over that the days before the Final Return of Jesus will be accompanied by more sinfulness in the world.  The reference is always to this passage where Jesus says that the days will be like the days of Noah and Lot.  But such a claim ignores the explanation Jesus gives.

In each reference, to the days of Noah and the days of Lot, the further explanation is to things indicating that life would continue on.  In the days of Noah they were eating, drinking, and there was marriage.  The very idea of marriage expects a future.  They had none.  In the days of Lot they were conducting business, planting, and building: Progress!  This also looked for a future, but there was none.  That’s the point.

In each case the cataclysm was a surprise.  In our case, when Jesus returns, He will be a surprise.  This element of His return is repeated often in the Scriptures, yet when we get to these two references we still go to the sinfulness of those days.  I suppose we love to wag the finger, pointing to all the sin, and telling everyone they’re going to burn!  I think we need a new hobby.

Perhaps instead of wagging fingers, we can be binding wounds?  In other depictions of readiness, we are told to be busy about the work given to us rather than slacking off.  So let’s get busy.  Not busy to appear busy (I do that really well), but focused on the task at hand.

When Jesus comes, He should interrupt the work He gave us to do.  It’s okay, He can do that, He’s the Master, we’re the slaves.  When He shows up is when the whistle blows signalling the end of the work day (or in this case the trumpet signalling the end of the world).

But until that happens we are supposed to be working together at the tasks He has given us.  There’s no time to wag the finger, for infighting, for holding resentment, for being bitter, to be distracted by this perishing world’s stuff.  We have people who need a life-line, need a care-giver, need to know someone cares selflessly.  It helps them look toward Jesus.  It’s not about us, and we’re certainly not the only way He works.  But He does work through us, or wants to.

What’s distracting you?  Or will the work of Jesus through you be interrupted by His return?

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A Little More Ready

If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!  But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.  You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Luke 12:38-40 ESV)

One of the ironies of Jesus’ teaching about His “return” in this historical context is that He hadn’t left yet.  Keep in mind that His disciples hadn’t yet accepted that He’s going to “leave” in any sense.  You also do well to remember that His resurrection may well have provided them the “return” in their minds, at least for 40 days or so.  So, in the actual context of Jesus saying these things they were baffling to His disciples.

I recently had a pastor tell me that calling Jesus’ final return the “Second Coming” was really misleading.  His point was that Jesus had been “visiting” this place a lot, even before His birth.  Why should be surprised to find that He’s visiting a few times before His “Return”?  That really got me thinking.  I don’t know where the term “Second Coming” actually came from, but I can’t think of a single Scripture that refers to Jesus’ final return with that term.  Could it be possible that we are as baffled as the disciples as to what Jesus teaches here?

The possibility of “entertaining angels” is one thing, but to consider that we could be entertaining the “Angel of the Lord” is actually quite frightening.  Think that through.  What if Jesus, in the form or office as the Angel of the Lord, does visit you?  Would you be comfortable having Him “checking in” on you?  “Thought I’d drop by for a visit,” He says, “How’s it going?” You reply.  For me, it could get very uncomfortable very quick.

I’m not saying that Jesus does this, but why couldn’t He?  He seems to have before (see an entry in my previous blog), and by this I mean a physical manifestation of God, often in human form (the burning bush was also referred to as the Angel of the Lord).  So, if Jesus has been here, or God has been here in physical human form, then what would prevent Him from showing up from time to time now?  I have to admit, it would be nice to have such an appearance now and again.  It often looks as if the church really needs a “visitation”.

But I also see in these prior examples that He shows up to one person, somewhat like the “…Almighty” movies with Morgan Freeman.  On the other hand He seems to “visit” believers.  So, a solitary believer might actually see Jesus, but who’d believe them?  I don’t think it’s about who would believe them, it’s about what they would do different after having seen Jesus.  Jesus’ appearances apart from His earthly ministry, were not for public consumption, not as our culture consumes anyway.  Jesus comes to help a person make a big change.

So, in that sort of light, am I ready? Is my lamp trimmed? Am I awake and ready to be visited by the Maker of all Matter?  And not for the end of the world, but for the end of my faithlessness, the end of my struggles with certainty, the end of my wishy-washy meandering I call “following Jesus”.  Are you ready?  Would you be ready to fire up the grill for the One having made the cow you’re about to throw on it? (Yes, I believe Jesus prefers beef, so what?) Well, I suggest we all be ready for a surprise visit from Jesus.  You just never know who’s coming to dinner.

What do you learn from Jesus’ call to be ready?

Readiness Part I

“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.  Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.  If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!  (Luke 12:35-38 ESV)

No one knows when the appearing of Jesus to close the history of this world will happen.  No one knows.  All Jesus tells us (over and over) is that we won’t know so be ready.  He repeats it a lot.  Passages like this one is where I find my theology of the “last man standing”.  Although in this particular one, Jesus doesn’t mention it; He may allude to it, but it’s not explicit.  What we get from this one is to be ready.

From the context, Jesus is speaking to all His followers.  In the following passage, after Peter asks who Jesus might be meaning this for, Jesus explicitly refers to leaders.  Here it’s everyone.  Every follower of Jesus is supposed to be a ready servant, ready for His return, ready with lamps lit, ready to open the door, ready to serve.  But only here, in Luke, do we find that the Master will then turn about on His servants and serve them.  It’s a statement that had to catch His listeners off guard. What master serves his servants?  Clearly this is no earthly master.

One of the difficult things for me to master in my walk with my Master is submission.  I’m stubborn, selfish, and self-centered.  I am.  I know it.  In a lot of ways I justify it because of the environment I live in.  I’m in America, home of the selfish, land of the narcissist.  If marketing promotes it, it’s only because we respond.  It works so well because we love being selfish.  We consider looking out for number one to be the most pragmatic approach to life.  Even when people talk a good game, care for others, and helping under privileged, and so on; even then there is an agenda.

So, to consider myself a slave is counter-intuitive for me.  Yes, I do live in America, but even so, I know it’s not right and I do it anyway.  I know I’m a slave, either of my Savior or of the enemy of the world.  I don’t get to escape slavery, such thoughts are part of what keeps people enslaved to the enemy.  The thing is, I do get to choose who I serve.

I wish it were that simple though.  It sure should be.  I can choose to serve the Master Who will then serve His faithful servants found ready when He comes.  But more often than not, I find that I’m serving the enemy of my soul who desires my demise and that of all my neighbors, friends, and family.  I know that it’s wrong, but I do it anyway.

I am happy to report that I do this less and less, much less than I used to.  I’m not the same person I was even 5 years ago.  I’ve grown and been stretched much further than I would have imagined.  But I am also very aware of the vastness that separates me from the ideal I see in Scripture.  I know my heart to an extent, and even that limited view reveals some darkness.  But it also reveals some light.  I see that my Master is not leaving me as an orphan, but in spite of my foibles, He continually works to mold more and more into His image.

So, I am confident that one day I will see His face.  I am confident that He will find me faithful (mostly), and I am hopeful that I will be one of those at His table as He serves His servants.  I can’t think of a better choice than to be a slave of One who serves.  I can’t think of a better option than to follow One who loves me and gave Himself up for me.  Who better to be a slave of?  Now to do the work of my Master.

What do you learn from Jesus’ call to be ready?