Jump Start # 1999

Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.”

Our verse today, the third in a series about the coming judgment. The chapter starts with the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. That sets the tone for believers to be alert because you “do not know the day nor the hour.” The second parable, talents, shows the basis of the coming judgment. We are not compared with one other, but, instead, the judgment is based upon what each of us could do. The judgment is about being responsible with what God has given to us. The final story, where our verse is found, shows us that the judgment is determined by our faith and our choices. In many ways, we choose each day to live for Heaven or to live without God, which is Hell. The judgment will not ignore these choices that we have made everyday of our lives. The judgment is not a written test about what we know, but rather, an examination of what our faith led us to do. Too many would like to live like a sinner and die like a saint. That simply won’t happen. The world has distorted and twisted things so badly, that people are convinced that the sinners are the ones who have all the fun. Long ago, Mark Twain is claimed to have said, “I like Heaven for the climate and Hell for the company.” That generated laughs, but it doesn’t make Heaven smile. Christians are perceived by many to be stern, serious, frowning and against everything. Who would want to be a Christian, if that was the case? It’s so wrong. Christians have a blast and they can have that without regrets, shame, guilt or layers of issues that come with sin.

Our verse tells of the coming of Jesus. He’ll come in His glory with all the angels. Just imagine. Imagine being home and you hear a noise like you’ve never heard before. Loud. It didn’t come from the house. What could it be? Did a plane crash? You rush outside and immediately you see the sky full of angels. Hundreds and hundreds of angels. Everywhere you look, there are angels. All about us are people looking skyward. Many are scared. Some are wondering if aliens are invading the planet. But you know. You have known for a long, long time.

You’ve read the verses in Peter, Thessalonians and other places. You know what’s going to happen. You know why it’s happening. You know and you have wondered if you would be alive to see this day. And, here it is. It’s Jesus. You see Him. Others are running around. Some are trying to hide. Some are crying. Some are cursing. Some are declaring that this couldn’t be. But you know. You drop to your knees and look upward with a smile on your face. You’re ready. You’ve been ready for a long, long time. It’s Jesus.

He promised a long time ago that He’d come again. He promised that He would take us to be with Him. And, now, here it is.

Imagine if Jesus came today. Suddenly, nothing else matters. What you have planned won’t come about. That doesn’t matter. You had a vacation scheduled. That doesn’t matter. You have a package that was to be delivered. That won’t happen now, and it doesn’t matter. You have a doctor’s appointment scheduled. That won’t happen now, and it doesn’t matter. You had a plumber scheduled to come out to the house in the morning. That won’t happen now, and it doesn’t matter. There are some important meetings at work that won’t take place. It doesn’t matter now. You haven’t finished the last episode of a TV series that you wanted to watch. That won’t happen now, and it doesn’t matter. You were going to see the latest Star Wars movie but that won’t happen now, and it doesn’t matter. There won’t be a Super Bowl. There won’t be a college football championship game. Some babies wouldn’t be born. Some wouldn’t graduate. Some books would never get published. Some songs would never get recorded. Some projects would never be completed. Some houses would never be finished. Some business deals would never come about. Some trials would not take place. Some criminals would not be caught. Some Christmas presents would not be opened.

If Jesus came TODAY, imagine how everything you have planned would suddenly stop. And, at that moment, nothing else matters. Nothing. Nothing, but you and Jesus. It won’t matter if you have your hair combed, or if you have shaved for the day. It won’t matter if you are barefoot or in your jammies. It won’t matter if you locked your door when you went outside. It won’t matter if you have gas in your car. It won’t matter if you backed up your computer or put all your pictures on Cloud. These things simply will not matter. It’s just you and Jesus. That’s all that matters. Now, everything you read, every Bible class you remembered, all those sermons—everything swirls around in your head. You remember. You know. This is the end as Paul described it to the Corinthians. You know in just a moment you’ll be changed. You’ll put on the immortal. You wonder what that will feel like. You wonder what you’ll look like. You know very soon that all the graves will open and the dead will be raised. You wonder what they will look like. You know that this earth will soon be destroyed. You know.

And all that matters is you and Jesus. Now, will it be like this? I don’t know. But we do know that He’s promised to come. We do know that the living will be changed and the dead will be raised. We do know that He’s coming with all the angels. We do know that when He comes, He’ll take God’s people. We do know that the world will be destroyed with fire. We do know that there will be a judgment. We do know that everyone will be ushered into eternity.

And we do know that all that really matters is you and Jesus. Do you believe? Do you follow? Do you obey? Do you please Him? Do you worship Him? Do you think about these things?

You and Jesus. He’s coming…what if it were today?

Roger