While Waiting for Home

 “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (Heb 13:14—15).

Living as a foreigner is a strange experience. Nothing belongs to them in the country where they live. If the foreigner is a newcomer, he needs help to make sense of things happening around him. Homesickness is high in the first few weeks, though it may wear out as time goes on. 

Christ-followers are sojourners on earth. Saint Peter calls them "sojourners and exiles" (1 Pet 2:11). The writer of Hebrews depicts them as people waiting in a foreign country for their permanent residence or a city that is to come. Paul reminded the church in Philippi, though they are Roman citizens that their real citizenship is in heaven, where Jesus is. "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…" (Phil 3:20).

Christ's followers are not idle passengers in waiting lounges, living in the tension of the now and the not yet. They cherish a dream of reaching their destined home. While on earth, they keep themselves busy, not with worry or fear, but with the joyous anticipation of the new destiny that God has called them to. They are filled with hope and excitement for what is to come.

This assurance of a permanent home that we travel to fills us with a deep sense of gratitude and joy, prompting us to praise God. The foundation of our worship is what God has done and what we will have through Jesus Christ. So, we sing on the way home, in every moment of our life on earth. We must not just sing but also integrate personal worship into our daily lives. Taking time out of our daily routine to sing praises to him is not just a suggestion but a vital part of our lifestyle, a source of strength and inspiration.

Today, take brief breaks to hum songs of praise to God. Let us punctuate our days with moments of personal worship.

Ready to be Served?

One of the many paradoxes of the Bible is the role reversals. The king may become a servant or someone in a lowly position may be raised to a new level of authority. Luke 12:35-40 describes one such role reversals.
This passage is undoubtedly about being ready for the masters' arrival. Just like the story of the ten maiden (Mattthew 25:1-13) this passage also talks about being ready with the lamps filled with oil. The servants should be watchful for the arrival of the bridegroom who may come unannounced to the party at an hour he chooses. He may keep the people waiting late into the night. However, the servants must be ready with their lamps, awake so that they can open the door at his first knock on the door.
It is not just opening the door and showing him the way in with the lighted lamp that is involved here. The master should be convinced that they had been awake all night. The master expects them to be awake and ready for action throughout the night ( Luke 12:37).
The master will reward them for their diligence. Here comes the role reversal. The servants are supposed to serve the master. However, God the master is different. If he finds that his servants had been waiting for him the whole night, he will reverse the role. They had been waiting without food and rest. So, God the master then decides that he should serve them first before being served himself. So, Jesus said: 'Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.' (Luke 12:37, ESV).
Discipleship involves readiness for action. Readiness will be rewarded in the Kingdom of God. Five of the ten virgins were not ready. They were cast out. However, the five who were ready joined the bridegroom in the party.
Though God expects us to do is being 'ready for action' (Luke 12:35), the real action belongs to God. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son (Genesis 22). Abraham had never offered a human sacrifice and he was sure that God does not expect a human sacrifice. Still, Abraham was ready for action. God tested his readiness to the point of lifting his hands. God acted just before the knife slitted Isaac's throat. Some point between Abraham began swinging his knife and it touched Isaac's throat, God intervened. God was ready with a lamb in the place of Isaac. The lamb was trapped in a bush so that Abraham did not has to chase it. God had held it in place to be lifted up by Abraham.
This is in line with God's character. The master of the household is always diligent so that he will not let the thief break in (Luke 12:35). Thus God expects us to be like him diligent and watchful. At his coming at a time that no one expects, Christ expects us people waiting for him. He will, then, according to his promise will care for us. The master we wait for is also a servant who loves to serve us. But are we ready to be served?

Productive While Waiting

The Second coming of Jesus Christ is not a popular topic these days. Even preachers in premillennial or dispensational etc, also do not seem to talk about it these days.There could be various reasons for this trend. First of all, it seems the satisfaction many Christians feel now in the present world situation. The topic of second coming had served to a large extent to cope with the pain and suffering of the present day. People could live with their sufferings now since better days are coming. Secondly, it has to do with the aversion to the details that the preaching always came with. It seems that people are fed up with the lack of consensus in the identification of the Anti-Christ, number 666, the number 144,000 and such fringe elements. The irrationality and subjectivity of such interpretations are increasingly questioned. Preaching on the second coming in the days gone by focussed on details  for which there are no strong biblical warrants. So, over the years it has become the very unpopular topic.
However, Jesus' own teaching on his second coming was largely ignored. Jesus' second coming is an important part of Christian gospel. As long as we stick to the core teaching on this topic and avoid straying into unwarranted details. Preachers should not preach more than what Jesus preached. They should stick to the core teaching on this topic and avoid straying into unwarranted details.
There are certain things that are central to Jesus' teaching on his second coming. The first is the certainty. He will come. The second is unpredictability. He will come at a time that no one knows.
While teaching about the future of Jerusalem and his second coming Jesus told his disciples three parables in the Gospel of Matthew (Chapters 24-25). These three parables emphasise three aspects of Christian behaviour while waiting for the Lord to come. The first is the parable of the Wicked Servant (), the second being the parable of the ten virgins (), the third being the parable of the talents (). These three emphasise three important things. The parable of the wicked servant warns misbehaviour that results from ignoring the master's coming. The second (story of ten virgins) talks about the possibility of missing the joy of his coming not being ready for it. The third emphasises that the time of waiting is a time of productivity.