“Jesus Come Quickly”

I hear this prayer a lot from believers. A crying out among believers that the Lord will just bring the rapture now. That everything is too far gone down here and that we are ready to go home. It breaks my heart every time I hear it. We have gone so far in our narcissistic view that we would rather the Lord come and get us now, rather than us deal with all of what is going on in our world. Have we gone to a point of giving up just because it looks to hard? Have we stopped caring about the rest of the world that we would rather them be condemned to an eternity separated from God? We have come to a place in our world that when times get tough the people of God give in. We would rather back down and run instead of standing on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We would rather watch millions of people march through the gates of Hell than deal with this world for moment longer. It is heart breaking.

“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” – 2 Timothy 4:2 NKJV

We are to preach the word. Paul sent this command and encouragement to Timothy as a reminder. A reminder that no matter the time nor the place, Timothy was to uphold the Gospel. When I was ordained, I was given this same verse as my charge. It was a challenge that I want to offer to all of you.

To be ready in season and out of season has two meanings to me. The first is to be ready year long. As every season passes, be ever so diligent to preach the Gospel. This means that no matter the day, the time, the color of the leaves, you are to preach the Gospel boldly! It is not an easy task to get up every day and tell others about Jesus, because if we were to be completely honest there are days where we can barely deal with people in general; however, every day be willing to tell someone about Jesus.

The second meaning is much like that of crops or fruits. As we have seasons in which certain crops or fruit are popular to be found, there are seasons when certain fruit is rare or unpopular. We do not eat watermelon during the winter, or we must wait for strawberries because it is not the right season for them. To be ready in season and out of season is to say that even when what you are saying is unpopular, do so anyways. Even when we think that the Gospel is only has an affect around Christmas and Easter, to preach it year-round. Even as we look at a world that is becoming more and more hostile towards Christianity, preach it anyways. Even when we are so tired of what is going on in our world, we must continue to think of the others and their need of the Gospel.

We are too focused on the Lord coming to get us and our want to be in Glory; we need to be focused on how little time we have to reach our families, our friends, and our communities. I pray that the Lord waits a little longer, for there are so many who are without Him and need Him.