Ding dong, ding dong. It’s been a long four days so getting up to answer the door seems to be more of a chore than a pleasure. Upon opening the door you see _________. Does it matter whose name is there. You haven’t been home to clean or do dishes so the house is a disaster and you have unexpected company. Do you turn them away out of embarrassment or invite them in asking them to ignore the mess? How about ending up in the clinic/ ER for hours with your child, or the rain floods your basement; a friend suddenly has a heart attack, or a car crashes into you. Negative unforeseen events happen all the time on both a small and large scale.
The other side of the coin is the good surprises in life. The surprise birthday party you didn’t even see coming. A gift from a friend ‘just because’, or a card containing money during a financially difficult time is unexpectedly great. How about twins when only one baby is expected, or a visit from _________ when your house is actually clean?!! Perhaps you get a promotion you didn’t even know was available or you find out someone has a baby for you to adopt. There are all kinds of positive unexpected events and hopefully they far outweigh the bad.
I think there will be one unexpected even that is both positive and negative… when Jesus returns in the clouds with power and glory*. For some, those who have the assurance of His salvation, it will be a positive time, for we will be with the Lord forever**. For those who have rejected His salvation, it will be a negative time that will be far worse than anything seen so far.
Do we need to know the date He is coming? No! The Bible clearly indicates we should all be ready when He comes. That means our hearts should be right with Him. Can He tell some of us the date? Of course, He’s God, He is sovereign and can pretty much do what He wants to. Will He? Seriously, does it matter? Any one of us could die in the next second, so basically we need to be prepared at all times to see Him at any unexpected moment***.
*Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
**1Th 4:16, 17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
***Take heed, watch, be ready, pray. Be ready for the unexpected. Matt. 24: 42, 44; 25:13; Mark 13:33, Luke 12:40; 2Pet.