Revelation 22:20 - He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, "Yes I am coming soon!" Amen! Come, Lord Jesus.
Wouldn't it just be awesome if that "coming soon" happened right now? I mean, wouldn't it be great if the Rapture happened and we could begin our eternity with Jesus?
On a day like today - election day - I find myself reflecting on the state of our nation and our world. I don't want to spark a political debate here, but it's all in pretty bad shape isn't it? This is certainly not the country I was born in, nor is it the country I want to die in. But I digress...
Given the state of affairs of this world, why wouldn't we be praying for Jesus to come soon? Given the fact that there are roughly 2 billion Christians in the world right now, and who knows how many in Heaven already, I'd say we would have some pretty good company in Heaven when we get there. But that 2 billion is the problem.
If there are 2 billion people that identify themselves as Christians, that means there are 5 billion that don't. This could be for various reasons, but the reasons don't matter. I'm not a big math guy, but 5 billion is a lot! Could we reach all 5 billion for Christ? Given the technology of the time we live in, why not? Does that mean that all will be saved? Probably not, but that's not for us to decide.
But just because they won't all give their lives to the Lord and be saved, does that mean we should just stop trying? Does that mean that we are just fed up with the way things are, so we throw up our hands and pray without ceasing that Jesus would come now? Who are we to say to God, "Look, I've tried, but I'm done trying. You can take us all now." It doesn't work that way. He doesn't work on our timeline.
It can be frustrating (to put it mildly) to see things progressing in the world the way they are. But that shouldn't stop us from Jesus' Great Commission to go and make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:19). We can't stop and give up, just because we get frustrated with how things are going.
What if God had gotten fed up with the way the world was and just said, "You know what I'm done with these people," and decided to end us all? Think He could do that? Of course He could. But He won't. He loves His beautiful creation too much.
When we get frustrated because it seems like it is taking too long for Jesus to come, I pray we can take comfort in the words of the Apostle Peter, "The Lord isn't really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent" (2 Peter 3:9).
He is patiently waiting for us to reach out to every last one of those 5 billion people that are "holding out" for their various reasons. God was - and still is - patient with us to come to Him and accept His free gift of salvation. Who are we to decide when His patience runs out? We aren't qualified for that, so let's let Him decide when He will come.
Dear Lord God, thank You for Your patience. Thank You for giving us all the opportunity to accept Your free gift of salvation that You have offered by Your amazing grace. I thank You for Your infinite patience with me throughout the years Lord. I pray for those that don't know You yet. There are a lot of them out there, and I pray for every last one of them. I want nothing more than to have 5 billion more brothers and sisters. Whether or not that will happen is not up to me, but You, and I pray that if I can be a part of leading any of them to You, I will be obedient to Your call. I pray that You will use me any way You want for me to be of service to Your people and Your Kingdom. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen!
God Bless!!!
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