Thursday – Letters

Reading – James 5

Highlight Verses:

“Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.”
‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

By nature, I am not a patient person.

I never got into fishing because of the waiting involved.

And as for gardening, we won’t even go there.

As far as waiting for Jesus to return, I’m not impatient.

But to call that being patient is not exactly accurate.

I want to be around for grandkids and to live this life to its fullest.

And that might be just what James is encouraging here.

In the early church, there was a lot of expectation that Jesus would be returning during the lifetimes of those who saw Him ascend to Heaven.

People would focus their whole lives around that expectation and ignore other important aspects of life.

A healthier expectation would be to live a life of purity and urgency toward bringing people to Jesus so you can be ready if Jesus came back tomorrow.

At the same time prepare and work to sustain a long life if Jesus does not come back in that time.

Where do you strike that balance in your life?
Have you ever had a time in your life when you were convinced Jesus was about to appear or the rapture was about to happen? How did that affect your life?