Luke 12:1-59
One of Christ's favorite subjects while He was on earth was His return. So much about the way that Christ was treated during His first coming was just so wrong. That will not be the case when He comes again. At that time, He will make all of it right. Most of this chapter helps us to properly prepare for that glorious day. Today we will look at what will happen at the return of Christ.
WE WILL HAVE SECRETS REVEALED: There is really no such thing as a secret. Since God knows everything, He knows all of our secret acts, thoughts and motives. He knows how many hairs are on our heads, how many grains of sand are on the sea shore and he knows each time a sparrow falls from the sky. If He cares enough to know all of that, imagine how much He cares about each of us. What is sobering about this truth is that He will judge each person upon His return. Unbelievers will be condemned to an eternity in hell. Those of us who have trusted Christ will not suffer such condemnation but we will still be judged in order to determine our eternal rewards. This coming judgment should be the motivating force of the life of every believer. We must be careful not to practice deeds or entertain thoughts that we would prefer be kept in secret for in eternity there is no such thing.
WE WILL BE SEPARATED FROM RICHES: No matter how big of a barn we might build to store our earthly possession, at the coming of Christ or at death we will be separated from all of those riches. The only true riches that will last for all of eternity are the treasures that are stored up in heaven through our godly attitudes and actions that bring glory to God. All else will burn. It is senseless to worry about earthly riches for they are passing and because God has promised to provide all of them that we truly need if we will but live in light of eternity. Riches stored up on earth will be eternally lost while riches treasured in heaven will never pass away. We don't worry very much about stubbed toes because, though they really hurt at the time, we know that in a few minutes the pain will subside. Any suffering that we may be entrusted with on this earth is but a stubbed toe in comparison with the glories that God has prepared in eternity. May we be faithful not to worry about toes but rejoice in the eternal.
WE WILL BE SURPRISED BY HIS RETURN: The point is that we do not know when He will return, so in that sense we will be surprised by it. However, we must strive very hard not to be surprised by His coming in the sense of not being ready for it. The fact that His return will be a surprise should motivate us to be prepared for it at all times. Is there something that you would be embarrassed to be doing when Christ returns? My sincere advice is to never do whatever that might be again. Is there something that you would be honored to be found doing when He returns? I would advise you to do those things as much as you possibly can. If we would live in light of this teaching, I have a feeling we would watch less TV, argue less, complain less and in general waste less time. I also think that we would read our Bible more, pray more, love more, sing more, laugh more and tell others of Christ more often. His coming will be a surprise but it is important to remember that some surprises are pleasant while others are not.
WE WILL BE SEPARATED FROM RELATIVES: This is a hard but honest truth. Because not all men will respond in faith to Christ and His teachings, many families will be separated from one another. This is true on earth and it will be true for eternity. Loyalty to Christ and the truth must supersede any family ties. This will, inevitably, cause conflict and division. We should do all that we can to minimize those divisions on earth and try to show them the truth of Christ. We must not be antagonistic towards unbelievers, especially those of our own family. But, we must prepare for the fact that they will, likely, be antagonistic towards us. We must respond in love so that the division will only be an earthly one. Our hope should be that God will grant them the grace of faith and repentance so that we will not have to suffer that eternal separation from those we love most.
WE WILL HAVE SECRETS REVEALED: There is really no such thing as a secret. Since God knows everything, He knows all of our secret acts, thoughts and motives. He knows how many hairs are on our heads, how many grains of sand are on the sea shore and he knows each time a sparrow falls from the sky. If He cares enough to know all of that, imagine how much He cares about each of us. What is sobering about this truth is that He will judge each person upon His return. Unbelievers will be condemned to an eternity in hell. Those of us who have trusted Christ will not suffer such condemnation but we will still be judged in order to determine our eternal rewards. This coming judgment should be the motivating force of the life of every believer. We must be careful not to practice deeds or entertain thoughts that we would prefer be kept in secret for in eternity there is no such thing.
WE WILL BE SEPARATED FROM RICHES: No matter how big of a barn we might build to store our earthly possession, at the coming of Christ or at death we will be separated from all of those riches. The only true riches that will last for all of eternity are the treasures that are stored up in heaven through our godly attitudes and actions that bring glory to God. All else will burn. It is senseless to worry about earthly riches for they are passing and because God has promised to provide all of them that we truly need if we will but live in light of eternity. Riches stored up on earth will be eternally lost while riches treasured in heaven will never pass away. We don't worry very much about stubbed toes because, though they really hurt at the time, we know that in a few minutes the pain will subside. Any suffering that we may be entrusted with on this earth is but a stubbed toe in comparison with the glories that God has prepared in eternity. May we be faithful not to worry about toes but rejoice in the eternal.
WE WILL BE SURPRISED BY HIS RETURN: The point is that we do not know when He will return, so in that sense we will be surprised by it. However, we must strive very hard not to be surprised by His coming in the sense of not being ready for it. The fact that His return will be a surprise should motivate us to be prepared for it at all times. Is there something that you would be embarrassed to be doing when Christ returns? My sincere advice is to never do whatever that might be again. Is there something that you would be honored to be found doing when He returns? I would advise you to do those things as much as you possibly can. If we would live in light of this teaching, I have a feeling we would watch less TV, argue less, complain less and in general waste less time. I also think that we would read our Bible more, pray more, love more, sing more, laugh more and tell others of Christ more often. His coming will be a surprise but it is important to remember that some surprises are pleasant while others are not.
WE WILL BE SEPARATED FROM RELATIVES: This is a hard but honest truth. Because not all men will respond in faith to Christ and His teachings, many families will be separated from one another. This is true on earth and it will be true for eternity. Loyalty to Christ and the truth must supersede any family ties. This will, inevitably, cause conflict and division. We should do all that we can to minimize those divisions on earth and try to show them the truth of Christ. We must not be antagonistic towards unbelievers, especially those of our own family. But, we must prepare for the fact that they will, likely, be antagonistic towards us. We must respond in love so that the division will only be an earthly one. Our hope should be that God will grant them the grace of faith and repentance so that we will not have to suffer that eternal separation from those we love most.
Dad - this one is sooooo good! it's kind of in the same direction as your thesis too =D I like the way you phrased the part about what do you want to be doing when Jesus comes back...the truth is definitely convicting. thank - you for that powerful reminder.
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