davidbowerkingwood

Are We Spoiled by Modern Society?

Today the pattern for life seems to be more focused on instant gratification; hardly anyone wants to wait for anything anymore. I recall as a young person the popularity among the working class, of which I was a member, of a device called “layaway.” One could make an initial payment on an item which would then be put into layaway at the store until it was paid off over a period of time then the item could be taken home and enjoyed or prepared as a gift. I suspect the layaway plan is rarely used today as instant credit permits one to acquire the item immediately for use with payments coming later to complete its purchase.

Our entertainment is similar in that a problem of some sort is presented on a TV show and solved within no more than an hour; certainly before it’s time for a snack. We’ve probably all felt an irritation when we discovered the show we were watching had two parts and we would have to wait until the following week to see how it ended.

Real Life is Not So Accommodating

We encounter a problem when real life gets involved; sometimes resolution of a problem can take a long time and never come out the way we had hoped. Trying to find an immediate solution to a long-term problem may only complicate the issue and delay a full resolution of the problem.

Even in the spiritual realm there is a desire for instant gratification. I’m reminded of the Christian’s prayer for patience attributed to Oren Arnold, “Dear God, I pray for patience. And I want it RIGHT NOW!” I see too much of this in the prayer requests I get from all over the world; people have an agenda for God and expect Him to move quickly to do whatever it is they’re asking of Him. Some are even angry with God when He doesn’t do what they are asking within an acceptable timeframe.

Are We Again Living in Biblical Times?

The Biblical age in which we are living is known as the Church Age, the age of grace, and just as it had a beginning it will have an ending. The beginning of the Church Age came on May 25, 33 AD but the ending, which will occur when the church is taken up at the Rapture, is known only to God. The Church Age was a mystery hidden from the Old Testament prophets and only revealed by the Lord Jesus Christ at His First Advent.

There are no unfulfilled prophecies that must take place before the church can be taken up; it could happen at any second and many of us hope it will be the next one. As some critics will point out those expecting the Rapture any second have been waiting for a long time and nothing has happened yet. I believe, along with many others, that the Rapture of the Church is a membership event, not a specific calendar event. By that I mean that our Lord is waiting for every individual He has foreordained to be a part of the church to become a part of the church before the church age is brought to a close.

2 Peter 3:9

This is what is intended when it is written in 2 Peter 3:9, “⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” The Book of 2 Peter is addressed to “To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.” In other words you is a reference to believers and the anyone and the everyone is a reference to those who will receive the message of salvation and become a part of the church before it is taken home. The Lord knows precisely who will be a part of the church and is holding the rapture back until that last soul is joined into the body of Christ; then the church will be called home to be with the Lord forever.

So, what are we waiting for? We’re waiting for our last brothers and sisters to be added to the body of Christ then we’ll all go home together. As an online missionary for Global Media Outreach I continue to marvel at the number of men and women coming to the Lord in Islamic controlled nations. The Lord is doing an amazing work in areas that are closed to ordinary missionary activity and bringing to Himself many converts from Islam to the true Lord and God, Jesus Christ.

Each day the Lord delays calling the church home provides opportunities for many more to join the body of Christ for all time and eternity. Aren’t each of us thankful that the Lord didn’t call the church home before we had the chance to join it? When the last person the Lord has chosen to be a part of the church receives Christ as Savior then we’ll all go home together; can you even imagine their feelings of gratitude when that last person realizes what happened?

Even so, Come Lord Jesus!