The end of the church year is closing in on us. Advent Sunday is on the 3rd of December. From there it’s only four Sundays until we celebrate the birthday of Jesus.
This Sunday we hear these wonderful words of promise from the apostle Paul concerning what will happen when the last day finally arrives. The way things are going in the world it may be sooner rather than later! We don’t know. Those early Christians had an imminent sense of the arrival of the last day. And that’s not a bad thing.
Perhaps we could do well to have a similar sense of life and the length of life that remains. It’s not that we should panic or become irrational over what may or may not happen; or when it might happen. Instead, we should simply live on trusting and make the most of the life that God gives us. We do that with a certain sense of assurance that our eternal lives are secure.
Paul says that we are to encourage each other with these words. These words place our lives into the context of God’s timing, of His plans, of his mercy – every day. And so, as the days, months and even years roll by, we are Waiting, Trusting, Anchored in the Lord.