I’ve lived through seasons in which people were absolutely sure that Jesus was coming back any day. It was very exciting, and for some, particularly the young, very disturbing. Any thought of planning for the future went out the window because, after all, what was the use? The end of history, as we knew it, was at hand. It stirred evangelism and put the fear of God in those whose moral life had declined. No one wants to be caught doing something bad when Jesus returns.
I’ve also lived through seasons in which believers were not at all confident that the end of the age was near. We watched news headlines for signs to determine where we were in God’s prophetic timetable. The world seemed to be headed into the “last days,” but there was so much debate over the interpretation of certain passages of Scripture many people lost interest in the subject. It all felt too uncertain or too far in the future to worry about.
We vacillate between extremes. Sometimes we’re waiting for Jesus to arrive at any moment, and sometimes we don’t expect Him in our lifetime. And that raises a question: Does the timing of Jesus’ return really matter? Aren’t we better off leaving this topic to Bible scholars and trusting Jesus to come back when He wants to? But this subject does matter because, as we’ll see today, the Lord wants His disciples to live with the expectation that He may come back very soon and to prepare ourselves to persevere in faith in case He doesn’t come back in our lifetime.
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