Will We Be Able to Gladly Welcome Jesus’ Return? 

On our way to our church association’s Annual Meeting in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, we decided to make a brief stop to see our son and his family in the Chattanooga area. Although we had been invited to do so, we weren’t sure if it was going to work out until the morning of our departure from home. We confirmed our last-minute plans with our son, but he and our daughter-in-law decided not to inform our little grandson that we were coming. So when he came to the door and saw us standing there, he excitedly shouted our names and welcomed us with big hugs. We were glad that he considered our unexpected visit to be such a good surprise.

One day Jesus is going to come knocking on the door of this world again. It will be an unexpected visit for many people. When He shows up, what will our reaction be? Will it be the delight and joy of seeing our Savior whom we love? Or will it be dread and fear such as a teenager might feel when his parents unexpectedly return home and catch him seriously misbehaving?  

In relation to His second coming, Jesus told a parable to His followers about a servant who was left in charge of his master’s household while the master was away (see Matthew 24:45-51). When the master returns, if that servant is wise and faithful, he will be found doing the work that the master had given him the responsibility to do. And as a result, he will be rewarded. However, the servant is described as being evil if he doesn’t take care of the duties with which he had been entrusted and even abuses his authority that he had been given. In that case, he will face the wrath of his master.  

If our Master were to unexpectedly show up today, would He find us to be faithful servants who are doing His will, or would He discover that we were neglecting those duties He had given us, maybe even doing harm instead of good? When we think about being ready for Jesus’ return, we often focus only on making sure we have trusted Jesus for salvation. And certainly, that is the main factor in our preparedness. Nevertheless, this parable reminds us that we also need to be faithful in doing the work our Master has left us to do. So what are those responsibilities Jesus has entrusted us with?

Some of the specific duties He has given us may vary from person to person. However, there are some general tasks that apply to all of us who are following Him. We are to be loving Him with all our hearts and loving others as ourselves. We are to be making disciples. We are to be sharing His Word. We are to be His witnesses. We are to be light and salt in this world. We are to be His ambassadors. We are to be laborers in the harvest field of souls. We are to be using our abilities and spiritual gifts for the work of His kingdom. We are to be a holy people who are becoming more like Jesus. We are to be students of His Word and faithful in prayer. We are to be fulfilling our unique role in the church and helping it to become the glorious Bride He calls it to be.   

Jesus has left us with plenty to do until His return. So let’s be faithful in doing it. Then when He does come back, we won’t be ashamed or afraid to see Him. We will gladly welcome Him, knowing that we will be greeted with His smile of pleasure and approval.

 

We Should Be Bearing Much Fruit 

One of our daughters has several blueberry bushes in her yard. They often welcome us and others to come by and pick some of the delicious fruit when it is in season. I took them up on the offer recently, coming away with a small container full of those berries that I like to include in my morning cereal. One day I asked my son-in-law if another member of the family had come over to get some blueberries as she had told me she might do. He responded that he didn’t know. The bushes are so full of the ripened fruit that he can’t tell when others have been there to take some. There are so many berries that it takes a lot of picking to make a noticeable dent in the abundant supply.

Jesus suggested that the life of someone who follows Him should be filled with fruit too. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). What was he talking about? Some people connect the idea of fruit with the results of our service to the Lord and the effectiveness of the ministries He gives us to do. That is certainly one of the ways we bear fruit for Him. However, this concept also has to do with the Christlike qualities that crop up in our lives. The Bible refers to such characteristics as the fruit of the Spirit. If we have the Holy Spirit living in us and transforming us into people who are more like Jesus, then these qualities will increasingly be evident in us. The list includes such traits as love, joy, peace, kindness, and self-control.

When Jesus pictured Himself as the vine and His followers as being branches, He didn’t say that they should just bear some fruit. He talked about them bearing much fruit. Too many of us are settling for a life that only sporadically bears fruit for the Lord, or one that only bears a little fruit. We should be seeking to stay so closely connected to the Lord our vine that an abundance of fruit is produced in our lives. It isn’t enough simply to be a branch on the vine. We need to be a fruit-bearing branch.

How important is it? Jesus said that every branch that doesn’t bear fruit is taken away. Lack of fruit might indicate that there is something wrong with our connection to the life-giving vine. Maybe we aren’t abiding in Him. Furthermore, Jesus went on to declare, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:6). Fruitlessness has its consequences.

But we should desire to be fruitful not just to avoid the negative consequences. We should do it because it honors God. Jesus said, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:8). The more fruit we bear, the more we glorify the Lord and the more we show ourselves to be true followers of Jesus.

So what can we do to be more fruitful? We can’t produce these qualities in our own strength. It isn’t about trying harder to bear more fruit. It is about abiding in Jesus – staying so closely connected to Him that His life-giving energy will work in us to produce more or a greater degree of these characteristics in our lives. Cling to the vine. Strengthen your connection with Him. Then you will find yourself full of fruit that will bring glory to the Lord.  

 

Dealing with Life’s Puzzling Questions 

Recently my wife gave me a book of various types of word puzzles. I have enjoyed spending some of my leisure time working through its pages, finding some of the puzzles more challenging than others. There have been a few occasions where I have gotten stuck or simply gave up on completing one of the puzzles. I simply couldn’t come up with the solution. Fortunately, this is one of those volumes that gives answers at the back of the book. I have made use of that resource a few times to peek at one small part of the puzzle in order to get over a hump so that I could continue on to complete the rest of the puzzle. Or in a couple of cases, I had to look up the complete answer. I just couldn’t figure it out on my own.

Sometimes life can be similarly puzzling. We have questions for which there aren’t any easy answers. For example, just this past week the tragic, deadly floods in Texas can raise all kinds of questions. Why didn’t God keep something so terrible from happening? Why did it involve all those innocent children? Why did it happen to a Christian camp? Why didn’t God protect those involved? Such questions can sometimes stop us in our tracks for a while as we reexamine our faith and remind ourselves of the truths we know about God. In some cases, struggles over such puzzling tragedies have resulted in people giving up on God altogether. They don’t get the answer they are looking for, so they close the book and quit trying.

The truth is that we may not always get our questions answered, at least not now. There are some answers available, although they may be limited. However, we also have a book that helps us out with these conundrums in life. God has given some degree of answers in His Word, the Bible. And interestingly enough, like my puzzle book, many of those answers can be found in the back of the book. In that enigmatic book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, there are truths that help us with some of our questions. It lets us know that in the end good and God will triumph over evil and what is bad. It shows us that there is life after death, a glorious life for those who are trusting Jesus. It informs us that one day God will make all things right. Even when there isn’t justice and fairness in this life, it will all be straightened out in eternity. There is a judgment in which evil and ungodliness will face the consequences of their actions. There is a day when the good will be rewarded. There is a time when there will be no more suffering, pain, and death. Tears will give way to joy. There is a time coming that will be so wonderful and so glorious that the tragedies and sufferings in this life will seem miniscule in comparison. And there is coming a day when we will be reunited with loved ones who have gone to be with the Lord.

There are additional truths in the rest of the Bible that help provide some answers. Truths about living in a fallen world. Truths about a loving and holy God who sees the bigger picture and is working out His wise purposes. Truths about a great God who can even turn tragedies into triumphs.

We will have questions at times, especially when facing difficulties and loss. We may not always have answers this side of eternity. However, we know God is good, faithful, and true. So even when we don’t get all our questions answered, we know that we can trust Him. He Himself is our answer.

 

Be More Intent on Loving Your Neighbor 

During a recent late-night storm, the power went off in our neighborhood. We remained without electricity and all its benefits until close to lunchtime the next day. Early that morning I, along with other neighbors, ventured outside to assess the damage. We discovered that there were a few trees down in our area, along with a number of large limbs, as well as the typical smaller debris of twigs and pine cones littering the yards and streets. We had one of those huge branches sprawled across our driveway, but thankfully it missed our house.

It was interesting to see so many of our neighbors getting outside, interacting with one another, assisting with the removal of limbs, and sharing about our mutual experience of surviving the storm and dealing with the power outage. A few new acquaintances were made. For others of us who already knew each other, it may have been the most we had talked in a long time. Race, political preferences, and other factors that often separate us didn’t matter. The storm and its aftermath brought us together to support and encourage one another. It is a shame that it often brings a hardship of some kind to pull us out of our shells of isolation and self-absorption to interact with others and to help a neighbor.

 It reminds me of the story Jesus told when He stressed the importance of loving our neighbor. Many of us know it as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. You are probably familiar with the account of the man who was robbed, beaten, and left injured lying on the road. A priest and Levite, both considered to be good religious people, saw the man but passed right on by without stopping to help. However, a Samaritan, someone different racially and culturally, showed compassion on the man by tending to his wounds, personally taking care of him, and then making sure upon his departure that others would continue to look after the man.

We don’t know what was going through the minds of the priest and Levite that day causing them to pass by this man without offering any assistance. Maybe they were concerned about their own safety since it appeared that violent robbers were in the area. Maybe they had urgent duties to attend to, even religious responsibilities to fulfill, and didn’t feel like they could take the time to help. I don’t know. But it seems that they were more focused on themselves, their welfare, and their personal interests rather than on the man who was hurting.

I am afraid that too many of us tend to be like the priest and Levite in the story. And certain factors in our culture encourage us to go that direction. It is easy to stay closed up in our houses with our air conditioning running rather than to get outside to interact with others. It is easy to walk around listening to our earbuds or looking at our phone rather than talking to or even noticing the people around us. It is safer to stay wrapped in our own little world and not get involved in the messy lives of other people.

I heard someone put it this way recently. He suggested that we need to quit looking in mirrors so much and look through windows instead. In other words, we need to quit being so focused on ourselves and our interests and see the people around us and their needs. If we are going to love our neighbor as Jesus taught, we need to be more intentional about getting outside our walls and reaching out to others. And it shouldn’t take a storm to get us to do it.