So. I got an email yesterday from a reader and it was very thought-provoking and meaningful to me.
It said:
“As my wife and I were praying this morning, and I prayed for our country “because it is falling apart at the seams”, I wondered if our prayers are lost in that regard. The Bible says these things are going to happen, and that good will be replaced with evil, etc. Makes me wonder if our prayers for the current state of affairs are selfish? He gives time for more people to come to Him (II Peter 3:9). So should we pray for a turnaround, or should we, as quoted in Laugh-In, just say “Sock it to me” and let’s get it over with.”
Hmmm . . . I often pray for God to come right now – TODAY and eliminate evil once and for all. Yes that is selfish of me. I tell you this hit home with me because I find myself more and more praying for Christ to return. I pray, please dear Lord rapture us and get us out of here to paradise TODAY! But this letter stimulated me to question is that a selfish approach and it is. By praying for that, I am in effect saying Lord I’m all set with my salvation as is my family, to heck with all those lost people, they made their bed, let them lie in it.
It is an entirely selfish approach in my opinion. I have mostly felt that Jesus would not return until everyone who would come to know Him as their Savior would do so. Some folks say, if this Jesus is real why doesn’t He appear in the sky for all to see? It took Jesus many thousands of years to leave His throne in heaven and come to earth to sacrifice His life for us. Who is to say He will not take many thousands of years to return?
During my prayers with my wife yesterday afternoon I prayed that every lost soul would come to know the Lord including the vilest among us and to please give me more opportunities to witness before He returns. I acknowledged that it is His will and not mine that needed to be done and I knew it would be. In essence until then I answer my friend rejecting the Laugh-In dialogue, Sock it to me and pray for a turnaround. I will TRY to quit whining about the corrupt world in which we live and focus on the important matter at hand, planting seeds for Jesus.
The word imminent means “likely to happen at any moment; impending.” When we speak of the imminence of Christ’s return, we mean that He could come back at any moment. There is nothing more in biblical prophecy that needs to happen before Jesus comes again. Knowing that the Lord could come back today, some are tempted to stop what they are doing and just “wait” for Him. The apostles lived and served with the idea that Jesus could return within their lifetime; what if they had ceased from their labors and just “waited”? They would have been in disobedience to Christ’s command to “go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation”, and the gospel would not have been spread. The apostles understood that Jesus’ imminent return meant they must busy themselves with God’s work. They lived life to the fullest, as if every day were their last. We, too, should view every day as a gift and use it to glorify God while we still can.
To retreat and “hold the fort” was never Jesus’ intention for us. We are on this planet for a short time, relatively speaking. We should make the most of it while we still can. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be with the Lord. The Apostle Paul longed for that day as much as anyone. But we were put here for a purpose, and we should do our utmost to fulfill it. Then we have all of eternity to spend time with our Lord.
John 9:4
We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can . . .