The inheritance is coming, wait…
Norah Summers
November 30, 2019
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Matthew 24: 1-14 (GNT)
1 Jesus left and was going away from the Temple when his disciples came to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Yes,” he said, “you may well look at all these. I tell you this: not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down.”
3 As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him in private. “Tell us when all this will be,” they asked, “and what will happen to show that it is the time for your coming and the end of the age.”
4 Jesus answered, “Watch out, and do not let anyone fool you. 5 Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will fool many people. 6 You are going to hear the noise of battles close by and the news of battles far away; but do not be troubled. Such things must happen, but they do not mean that the end has come. 7 Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another. There will be famines and earthquakes everywhere. 8 All these things are like the first pains of childbirth.
9 “Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and be put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. 10 Many will give up their faith at that time; they will betray one another and hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will appear and fool many people. 12 Such will be the spread of evil that many people's love will grow cold. 13 But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. 14 And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through all the world for a witness to all people; and then the end will come.
This passage makes disturbing reading. The end days sound like a fierce testing time that has to be got through. Whoever holds out to the end…
Not so much waiting as endurance.
There is a kind of mirror image of this scenario in James 5: 7-8: “Be patient, then, my brothers, until the Lord comes. See how patient a farmer is as he waits for his land to produce precious crops. He waits patiently for the autumn and spring rains. You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord’s coming is near.”
We aren’t very good at waiting nowadays. We expect instant gratification. Next day delivery.
But there are still many circumstances in which we have to go through a certain amount of pain before we get our reward – surgery or treatment to cure or ameliorate some condition, training for a sporting event, studying for exams, expecting a baby.
None of our human efforts can absolutely guarantee the reward, of course – but God’s long patience does. His Kingdom will come.
Loving God,
give us patience,
give us endurance,
give us hope.
Your Kingdom come.
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