Jesus will be back soon
In 1898, a ship called Mohegan sailed from London to New York carrying 57 passengers, 97 crew and 7 cattlemen. The Mohegan, originally named ‘Cleopatra’ was an extremely luxurious and modern ship for her time. She was built for ‘safety at sea’ and was equipped with 8 water tight bulk heads, fail safe lighting and pumping systems, 8 life boats capable of carrying 59 passengers and 3 compasses. At first all went well and the weather was quite good. The next day the ship took a wrong course which was noticed by the coastguard who attempted to signal to her with warning rockets. The Mohegan either was unaware or took no notice and steamed on a compass course that was incorrect. At about a quarter to seven that evening, the passengers were just taking their places for dinner. In the first class cabins the nannies were supervising the children’s preparations for bed. Five minutes later the Mohegan, ablaze with lights smashed at full speed straight into the Manacles Reef, ripping a huge gash right below her waterline. Against this kind of damage the watertight compartments were useless, and several were flooded straight away. The ship was plunged in to darkness and sank within 12 minutes with the loss of 106 lives.
Just try to picturise the situation. The people aboard had no idea about what would befall them within moments. Really pathetic, isn’t it? I am sure none of us want to be caught up in such a situation. But I am afraid we would be in a worse situation if we ignore the warnings from the Bible. I Thessalonians 5:3 says,’ For when they say, “Peace and safety” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape’. This verse talks of the plight of those who are not ready for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Mathew 24:37-39 Jesus reminded the people of the story of Noah to tell them how awesome the day would be. Most of you would have heard this story in your ‘Sunday school days’. Here all the people on earth were caught up in a flood except eight of them, who did not ignore God’s warning but made an ark and went in to it.
Many passages in the Bible talk about the day of the coming of Jesus Christ. His coming means different things to the 2 different groups of people. One group has made itself ready for His coming and is awaiting Him. The other group is the one which ignores warnings and carries on as its heart desires. To the first group Jesus’ coming means eternal joy and eternal life. To the other, it means death and eternal agony. In the last chapter of the Bible, Revelation chapter 22, these words appear 3 times,’ I am coming quickly’. Have you ever thought of a day when the whole world would be stunned by the coming of Jesus Christ? Now, it might sound like a comic to many. The political heads of the nations do not have this on their agenda. But the signs of the end of times as written in the Bible have begun to appear. So, the wisest thing is to get ready for His coming.
How do we get ready for His coming? According to the parable in Matthew 24: 45-51, we as wise servants of God have to accomplish that which has been committed unto us by our Master. Yes, obeying God’s word and fulfilling His will is how we can be ever ready. When Jesus appears He will gather to Him those who had been obedient to His words. Revelation 22:14 says,’ Blessed are those who do His commandments that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates in to the city’. Today, why don’t you wholeheartedly commit yourself to obey His commandments?
Solomon, the wisest king concludes so in Ecclesiastes 10:13, ‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is the whole duty of man’. He continues in verse 14, ‘For God will bring every work in to judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil’. That is why Jesus said in Rev 22:12,’And behold I am coming quickly and My reward is with Me to give to everyone according to His work’. All these verses clearly state that we will be judged by Jesus Christ for everything we do on this earth. How careful we ought to be! In fact, this should be the priority throughout your life. This is one thing Jesus wants from you and He is ready to take care of all your worldly needs. In Matthew 6:32, 33 Jesus said,’ For all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you’. We, as children of God need to prioritize this one thing-‘kingdom of God’.
Right now, you are in an important stage of your life. The decisions you take now will shape your future, your eternal life too. On one side is God and His eternal kingdom. On the other side is Satan, the deceiver and the vanity of the world. The decision is yours. You can ignore the warnings of the Bible just as the people did in the days of Noah. Noah and His ark looked funny in their eyes till the windows of heaven were opened and waters came upon them. Let us obey God just as Noah did and enter in to the ark of Christ. Living in Jesus Christ is such a joy and is God’s gift.
Open your heart to Jesus. Ask Him to come inside and stay with you. As long as you listen to Him He will reside in you. Spend time with Him in prayer and read the Bible too. Ask Him to give you the grace to understand His words and obey them. Be ready to meet Him any time. Every night before going to bed, ask yourself,’ what if Jesus comes tonight? Am I ready?’ Each passing day of your life is bringing you closer to the day you will meet Jesus face to face. It will be a day of great rejoicing if you are prepared to meet Him. Let us all get ready to meet our Saviour.
