The Return of the King

I love mornings when I wake up, early enough that I feel most of the world is not yet awake. That is how this morning was, I had not planned on it, but I woke up early and decided to go for a run while the sun was rising. During my run, I was listening to a sermon by Francis Chan, during which I was gripped by the excitement and expectation that comes with the imagery of my King returning! That thought is an exciting one for some, but for others it is absolutely frightening. Chan read from Matthew 24:36-51 which speaks of Christ's return, a blessed time for the faithful and wise servant, but for the wicked servant a horrible time. How will it be for you? We are to live our lives expectantly, like a bridegroom waiting with hopeful joy for his bride to appear. But there are some who are not ready, who just want to live their own life. Christ is going to come like a thief in the night, we should live expecting that, being ready for His return. Chan challenges us to look back over the past year and evaluate, was I ready for Christ to return? There are many moments when it would have been a completely inopportune moment for Christ to return! When I am sitting around being anxious and worried about all the work I have due next week in school or when I am stressing about all that needs to get done between now and June. That is me living life not expecting my Lord to return any moment, that is me fretting over things that will not last! I want to be found doing the work of the Lord. I want to live in light of Christ's return, using every moment I am alive to honor and glorify Him. I want to use the talents He has given me to serve others, and the breath in my lungs to praise Him and lift others up in prayer. I do not want to give the image that I can live this way all the time, because I am far from perfect, but I want to strive for that. How would life look different, if we chose how to spend our time each day with the expectation that this could be the day of Christ's return? Would I be anxious about my work? Would I worry about tomorrow at all??

Matthew 24:44 "Therefore you also must be ready, 

for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect"

Where do you want to be when Christ returns? 

source