The Lord Is Coming

“Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation” -1 —Thessalonians 5:6–8

What Paul is saying in this verse is for us to wake up and be ready for the Lord’s return. Where are we spiritually? For the person who is right with God, it motivates and purifies them. For the person who is not right with God, it frightens and alarms them. Looking for Christ’s return doesn’t mean we need to live a miserable, repressive, or confining way. It actually encourages us to live a happy, joyful, and purposeful way. We need to be aware, carefully observing the times and seasons that we are currently living in. We should avoid the disconnect between our “spiritual life” and real life. We should continue to grow in our faith and knowledge of God, as well as walk in the Spirit. It’s easy to get so caught up in this world and become passive about the things of God but we need to remember the teaching of Christ’s return. As C.H. Spurgeon had once said, “It is a very blessed thing to be on the watch for Christ, it is a blessing to us now. How it detaches you from the world! You can be poor without murmuring. You can be rich without worldliness. You can be sick without sorrowing. You can be healthy without presumption. If you are always waiting for Christ’s coming, untold blessings are wrapped up in that glorious hope.”