There is a fair amount of speculation regarding whether or not we are currently in the end times, the times that will immediately precede the return of Christ. While I don’t know, of course, there is ample indication that many of the prophecies that must be fulfilled before the return of Christ have, in fact, been fulfilled. While study of the last things is fascinating, there is a more important issue related to the end times. In the Gospels Jesus said to his disciples that what counted most is that when He returns we are ready and fully engaged in following Him.

Here is what Jesus says regarding His return in Matthew 24:36-42. “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”

The common theme here is that when Jesus returns society will be living as the world was living when Noah built the ark and the floods came. As the ark was being built, something that had to be the talk of the day, given that it was a huge boat with no water to float in, people carried on as usual with their daily lives focused on themselves. Even with that warning sign going on for all to see, what was happening? People were ignoring the divine and simply carrying on as if the world would last forever: eating, drinking, marrying and living an oblivious life until the day Noah entered the ark and the floods came to claim them. Can you see them pounding on the doors of the ark as the waters rose desperate for rescue but too late to receive it?

Life can dull the reality of the eternal, and like those in Noah’s time, it is easy to become complacent about God. It is easy to let our active engagement with him go, living life as if it will always remain the same, in our own world. Jesus warns His disciples not to let that happen. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Be ready and keep watch so that life does not dull us to the reality of God's plan in our world.

A few verses later in Matthew 24:46, Jesus says, “It will be good for that servant whose master finds him engaged when he returns.” The one who has remained faithful and lived their life with His return in mind. Who doesn’t allow the sameness of life to dull their spiritual edge.

Here is reality. Jesus could return at any time and He has promised that He is coming back. Every day we wake, we should live with the reality that it could be today. Our prayer should be that we are fully engaged with Him and for Him on that day that He returns. If it were today, would you feel comfortable that you are ready to meet Him?

Father, thank you for the promise of your return, when you will usher us into eternity. And thank you for the reminder today that we want to be ready, engaged, and faithfully living for you when you return. Find me faithful to the end. Amen.