Friday, March 23, 2007

How Ought We to Live in Light of His Promise to Return



"...this same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." Acts 1:11

I recognize that my soul occupies a very frail lump of clay. This clay is rapidly hardening and becoming increasingly difficulty to manipulate and mold. I doubt that the process is advancing more rapidly than it was in previous years, but I am much more aware of my intractability now than I have been in the past.

I wonder why I don't totally submit my stubborn self-will to Him, in order that He might make me more usable during the time I have left here on this earth. The song writer said that he was looking for a city not made with human hands. Many of us seem to have fallen so in love with this present world that we seem unable to plan for the celestial home which He has promised. It is not a strange thing for the unbeliever to develop a strong attachment for this world system. His next stop will be far less pleasant than the most mundane experience here. However, the true believer is not so. His future holds the promise of total fulfillment in the glorious presence of The Lamb of God. Why then, do we live as if accumulating things and position is the end for which we strive.

Is it possible that He can be LORD, if we still make decisions based upon the temporal things of this age? It may be that many have mistakenly substituted a confrontation with Christ in which they were convicted of sin, confessed their sin, and even were contrite for their sin, with genuine conversion from sin. The life of Judas demonstrates that one might realize his condition, confess it, and even be sorrowful for it unto death without experiencing conversion from sin.

Should one really believe that Jesus is coming back he ought to prepare to meet Him and not wait with the half-hearted expectation of the foolish virgins who found their lamps empty of the precious oil when the bridegroom arrived. The genuine conversion which acknowledges Him as LORD of every facet of one's life, compels the individual to study, pray, and so live as to proclaim to the world that His return is indeed imminent.

Is it possible that the Evil One has blinded the eyes of many of those who have professed Christ as LORD? Many of today's professing believers seem unwilling to accept that one single, unconfessed, unrepented of sin gives the Evil One authority to operate in their lives. These seem to excuse sin as the natural failings of the human experience without acknowledging the consequences of such when left unattended. Such professors treat only those sins deemed socially unacceptable as needful of repentance.

The conclusion at which one must logically arrive is that either such professors have believed the counterfeit religion the Evil One promotes, and are not genuinely converted; or they, though converted, have wilfully allowed the Evil One to influence their thoughts and actions by believing the Evil One's lie that "a little sin won't hurt."

The true believer should conclude that he ought to live a life characterized by: An anxious anticipation of the soon return of Our Dear LORD. A life lived in the world, but focused on the celestial kingdom. A life in which the Lordship of Christ is evident in every aspect of that life. A life which is continually being cleansed and purified as the believer confesses and repents of known sin daily.

© Mike Rasberry 2007

1 comment:

Splinters of Silver said...

"Many of today's professing believers seem unwilling to accept that one single, unconfessed, unrepented of sin gives the Evil One authority to operate in their lives. These seem to excuse sin as the natural failings of the human experience without acknowledging the consequences of such when left unattended."

Indeed, my friend, indeed. God help us!