To Be Least

      The glory of God. The thunder resounds and sky illuminates. God seems to have opened up the floodgates here in Illinois. As I was sitting at our computer watching the dark clouds move past our office window I could not help but think of the day that Jesus will return.

²⁹"Immediately after the distress of those days
   " 'the sun will be darkened,
       and the moon will not give its light;
   the stars will fall from the sky,
       and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'

³⁰"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. ³¹And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

³²"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. ³⁴I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Matthew 24)

      Just as Jesus left this earth in the clouds, he will also return to this earth in the clouds. (Acts 1:11) The disciples thought that Jesus would come in their lifetime. However, Jesus himself taught that no man knows the hour or day when he will return. If it is in my lifetime, I do not know. But this I do know, that when he does return it he will do so with glory and power. Until he comes, we are to fulfill what he commanded before he ascended into the clouds. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[1] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20)

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.