Luke 21:25-28 (ESV)
[25] “And there will be signs in
sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity
because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, [26] people fainting with fear
and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the
heavens will be shaken. [27] And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a
cloud with power and great glory. [28] Now when these things begin to take
place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing
near.”
This passage reminds me of Anna
L. Coghill’s hymn Work for the Night is Coming. The closing line of the hymn is
“Work, while the night is dark’ning, when man’s work is o’er.” At the end of
the day we can easily slack off. The day is almost over; my shift is almost
over; my assignment is almost done; class is almost done; I’m tired and ready
to be done and so I slack off. If I’m working a shift, I may start to put up my
tools a little early. If I’m in a class, I start to put my books away while the
instructor is still lecturing. But that’s not what God has called us to do.
Like a farmer who plants right up to the moment it’s too dark to see, God has
called us to remain faithful.
The earth will be filled with
foreboding, but Jesus is coming. It is not time to retreat into the safety of our
church walls and wait. It is time to engage with a broken world even as the
world crumbles around them. It’s time to “straighten up and raise your heads, because
your redemption is drawing near” (Lk 21:28).
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