A human takes birth, passes through various phases through infanthood, toddler, teenage hood, adulthood and elderly hood and it becomes into a sort of going with the tides of cares of this life. It’s too easy to go with that flow and not pause to think or retrospect or regarding what is really reality and what isn’t. It is way too easy to expect a sort of eternity within the seams of routine, within eat, sleep, work, study, socially interact and repeat and within such a life we have made our lives easier through preplanning them all out.
And it’s often too easy to spiritually sleep, while finding a form of constancy and security on different temporary things in life, be it financially, or in the form of family or parents or well the options are endless.
It is way too easy for us to repeat the sins which had been repeated in the past by Israelites in the times where prophet Jeremiah was around. In Jeremiah 2:23 we find the Israelites being pointed out for two sins;
One, forgetting that the real form of constancy and eternity is to do with God and
Two- finding a form of security in reservoirs of things in life even if they were just broken cisterns at the end of the day.
Since we all are surrounded by culture and environment which is set in stone to play out according to the world system of the prince of the air, it’s even more easier to be spiritually blinded and asleep.
Sometimes it’s when we have certain crisis, breakdowns, like a health issue or job loss or loss of loved ones, finally we may have a break from this stream of eternal seeming cares of life and that’s when we really see how much of our security and belief of constancy and reassurance was put in a temporary element.
In such moments we often would find difficult to accept the reality as it is since we have been putting our assurance in a broken cistern and it take so much energy to get out of the status quo to notice that is broken. Perhaps in the past the well might have been working but not anymore.
This is a major significant reason why we could comfort ourselves in preparing to be present in the fullest form of the kingdom of God during Jesus Christ’s 2nd coming. Because during this period we can totally expect a constancy and security from the presence of the fount of living waters – God. And hence the verse below gains much meaning because the main source of pain is via expecting a constancy from a temporary aspect of life.
“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold , the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4
The second coming of Jesus isn’t given any specific time and this indeed is still an unanswered question among many who are unaware of the Biblical context.
“For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.” (1 Thessalonians 5:2)
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night…” (2 Peter 3:9-10)
God’s immense form of longsuffering ought to be held in wonder and awe. But also in my opinion there is a reason why the timing is not said. It is just so that we would be prepared for the coming of the Lord anytime so that we would be diligent in any blessing that God has given to us steadfastly.
Consider this parable which Jesus said.
“Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make a ruler of his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?
Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming’. And begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk,
The master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware…”
(Luke 12:42-43, 12:45)
One would be able to decipher out that the faithful servant believed his master’s return was imminent while the evil servant has given room to complacency in his heart which leads him to becoming unfaithful in his work.
May each one of us be sober and build our relationship with Christ, the way , the truth, the life, to examine our paths we walk in – whether we have given room to complacency of keeping things for tomorrow or whether we have given Christ to dwell in our heart in every aspect of life.
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