Day 35: Luke 17:20-37
Take a second and prepare your heart to take in God’s word:
20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. 24 For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
In today’s passage, Jesus tells His disciples two things about His return. First, when Jesus comes again - it will be hard to miss. His return will be as clear and visible as lighting across the sky.
And second - before that day can come - before Jesus can rescue and restore all things - He must suffer and be rejected.
Isn’t it a strange truth: that death, so often, must come before life? It’s the way of seasons, the way of nature and - the way of our own lives.
What deaths have you faced over the past years of your life? Ask Jesus now to plant seeds of new beginnings and restoration in the ashes.
26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” [36]
37 “Where, Lord?” they asked.
He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”
Here is the third thing Jesus tells His disciples about the coming of the next age: it will come upon us suddenly.
It feels like there will always be more time: today can be wasted because we have tomorrow to devote ourselves to Jesus and begin to follow Him again. But Jesus is encouraging us to live our lives in such a way that reflects our heart for Him and His Kingdom in this present moment.
Consider your present - the next ten minutes - the next ten hours.
What people will you encounter today? What conversations might you have?
What would it look like to spend your present time in a way that reflects what you truly love and value?