Today we are at the end of the first letter Paul wrote to the new church in Thessalonica. In this final passage of the letter Paul is writing to reassure the new believers that those who have already died before Jesus’ return, will not be denied eternal life. Those who as Paul puts it ‘have fallen asleep in him’ will be raised from death, just as Christ himself was, and enter into eternal life with Jesus at that point. What a blessed day that will be.

Paul continues to encourage the church not to simply wait idly for the glorious day of the return of our Lord, but to work responsibly for the good of all.

Do you ever wonder when will Jesus return?  Many years ago now, it was something I was totally preoccupied with. I read a number of books which claimed to explore end time prophecies and signs, and they did and were written by Christian authors. My conclusion, years later, is that if Jesus himself did not know when he would return, then how foolish was I to think I could work out or comprehend when this would take place. Maybe in these end times, there are more productive ways to spend our time! It is more than sufficient to know that He will return and our father God in heaven alone knows. We have no need to be anxious about such things whether we be alive or dead, we will have eternity with Him to look forward to.

There may indeed be times here and now when our lives are more than a little difficult, whether because of ill health, financial hardship or some other reason. We might in turn wish for the return of our Lord to be sooner than later, but we can be certain that it will happen one day. We should be careful not to be found wanting on that glorious day, not because we can earn our place in glory, for it is by God’s grace alone that we receive that gift, but because Jesus himself stated that it will be sudden and unexpected.

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In the meantime we should all work diligently and responsibly to the glory of Christ Jesus.

Lord we pray that you will help us to accomplish something of that wish today.