With all the events unfolding in our world recently, I can’t tell you how many people have said to me, “Bobby, is the rapture happening soon?” Though I really have no idea when the Lord is returning, and the Bible says that He will come like a thief in the night, all I can say is that I hope so! I really want Him to come back, and since I’ve placed my hope in Jesus’ salvation and my trust in His promises, I’m looking forward to meeting Him with every ounce of my being. That said, historically speaking, there have been many times when people thought the end was near. Probably the worst of these was a catastrophic event in the 14th century when the Black Death, also known as the bubonic plague, hit the world with a vengeance. Having come to the Genoese Port in Italy from China through fleas carried on rats, this deadly pandemic wreaked havoc in humans and ultimately killed close to 50% of the global population. As clergymen and kings watched their friends and neighbors die, with many of them ultimately succumbing to the illness themselves, hundreds wrote in their journals that the end of the world was surely near. Yet amazingly, nearly 700 years have passed since then, and we are still here. Though no one knows the day or the hour, whether His return is imminent or not, God uses times like these to “wake us up” and give us a fresh opportunity to “get right” with Him! 

My friend, you needn’t be assured of the day or hour of the Lord’s second coming to make sure you’re ready to meet Him! Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed to any of us, so today is the best time to surrender yourself to Christ’s keeping. If you’re holding something back or clinging to any stubborn sin, place it in His hands right now. Give Him your life, and when you finally see Him face-to-face, He will give you a crown of glory as He lovingly and joyfully exclaims, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Invite His mercy and forgiveness to cover so you can stand confidently before His throne when you enter that glorious place called Heaven on a day in which there is no sunset and no dawning!