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We wonder, as have Christians throughout the ages, what does Jesus mean by "soon"? Everyone including Martin Luther felt that soon was in his age. We look for him today -- some with hope and some with dread. We will have to leave it up to him when soon will be. The confusing part to me is his next sentence, "I will give to everyone according to what he has done." I thought we were saved by grace alone! He doesn't say "according to his faith -- or what he has believed." We should, of course, try to do what the Lord asks us to do! Each one of us will have to judge that one. Notice in most churches there is the symbol for the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet on the church hangings. I think it means that we need to look nowhere else! Jesus is the answer to everything. The beginning and the ending! If we are baptized and believe, he will wash us in the robes of purity. Again it hints that we are the ones who will do it! By our baptism and faith? If we have obeyed, then we can eat of that tree in the garden which Adam and Eve were not supposed to eat from. At last -- because of Jesus -- the fruit is open to us. Only Jesus has unlocked to door to that tree! It is like a drowning man. The lifeguard throws out a life preserver, but it is up to us to grab hold of it!
Jesus came to give us his word through his holy angels. He is in the line of David who has come to fulfill the prophecies of old! All we can do is come if we are the bride of Christ. I always tell my friends of other denominations that Jesus was not a Mormon bishop who has many wives -- Lutheran, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Methodist, and so on. He only has one bride! We have to recognize that fact and know that he has already made us one. It is not a job for committees of theologians! We only have to recognize what he has done.
All this makes me thirsty for the water he offers us. He said that if we hunger for righteousness we will be filled, and if we are thirsty he will quench our thirst. That fact that we come faithfully to church shows that we are thirsty for what God has to offer. It may not come every Sunday, so be patient! He will fulfill our every need -- our every hunger and thirst!
Jesus came to give us his word through his holy angels. He is in the line of David who has come to fulfill the prophecies of old! All we can do is come if we are the bride of Christ. I always tell my friends of other denominations that Jesus was not a Mormon bishop who has many wives -- Lutheran, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Methodist, and so on. He only has one bride! We have to recognize that fact and know that he has already made us one. It is not a job for committees of theologians! We only have to recognize what he has done.
All this makes me thirsty for the water he offers us. He said that if we hunger for righteousness we will be filled, and if we are thirsty he will quench our thirst. That fact that we come faithfully to church shows that we are thirsty for what God has to offer. It may not come every Sunday, so be patient! He will fulfill our every need -- our every hunger and thirst!
