Don't wait for the Second Coming--Prepare for it!

Jesus has already told us -- dozens will claim to be Him, may even perform magnificent feats to prove their claims. But we are not to listen (Luke 21:5-11).  We are living in such a false-messianic age.  There are messiahs by the dozen: people who will save us from global warming and people who will save us from oppressive thoughts; people who will save us from our debts, and people who will save us from our possessions; people who will save us from our government and people who will save us from those people.  Everywhere you look there is a new messiah! 

In a walk from the kitchen to the garden we can name a dozen famous figures who will save our minds, our morality, our dinners, our houses, our portfolios; you name it, there's someone to save it, someone to turn to.  Our politicians promise us salvation from greenhouse gases, social unrest, war, poverty, and hunger.  And never once have any of these messiahs brought us one step closer to peace of mind or heart.  And so long as there are people, there will be false messiahs; some taking on the mantle themselves, others having it given to them by star-struck crowds.

There is one faith, one Lord, one baptism (Ephesians 4:5).  There is one God and Father of all.  There is one Messiah, one great King and Brother whose sacrifice brought us all into the courts of His Father.  There is NO ONE else, there can’t be because the Son of God is singular; there is but one of Him.  He is Lord and Master, King and Messiah, Brother, Friend, and Helper in all of our needs.  With Him we have need of no other messiah.  Christ Our King is King indeed, Lord of all.  Don’t wait for His second coming to be with Him; be with Him now; Friend in times of trial, and sole source of comfort in our afflictions.

We should be more interested in what we can do for Christ in the present than in what he can do for us in the future.

Rather than telling others they will be punished in the impending doom, we should be spreading Christ's love so much here and now that we lay strong foundations for a better future.

Giving thanks this week is not about being grateful that everything has worked out so beautifully in life.  It is a time of thanksgiving because the journey has not been perfect and yet we’ve made it through.  Amid the struggles, the loss, the disappointments…the messiness…we still say “thanks.”  It’s important to recognize that life is complicated, but that God’s love is far greater and is what draws us together and binds us together.  We can all say “Amen” to that.