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Dec 06, 2022 18:30pm

The Time is Now

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I traced a vein on his worn, leathery hand. The smoothness of his nails under my fingertips. I made a mental note to get some lotion on those arms of his. His skin had always been so dry, but he hated the feel of lotion. But it wouldn’t bother him now. No protesting. Just silence.

We were coming to the end. When it would be, no one truly knew. But my father’s heart was just too weak to continue pumping blood throughout his body. For years, he had lived with just a small percentage of it actually working, but now, the doctors had done all they could, and we had agreed to comfort care.

A sweet nurse came by and talked with me about hospice and end of life care. Her words were comforting and her voice was calm and steady. I could tell this wasn’t the first time she had talked with a family. She brought with her a little blue book. Inside, we’re just a few pages, but it gave information about the process of dying. It had details of a few things that would happen and we discussed how to respond to those moments.

It gave me comfort knowing some of the things that were to come. I asked her how long he would live if all these things had happened and she simply said, we don’t know. All we could do was care for him throughout those moments.

I read through that little book, and as I sat with him in that hospital room, those things started to happen. Just like it said in that book. I was glad to know about it. Otherwise, I might have been scared and called for the doctor thinking something was wrong. Instead, I just spoke softly to him, and reminded him it was okay for him to go home.

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24: 3-13)

The disciples questioned Jesus about how they would know when the end was coming. In His response, Jesus shared some things that would occur, things for the men to expect, but there was no end date given. The Lord did not intend for them to know the exact date, but instead to be prepared, no matter when it was.

As I read this passage of scripture, several areas caught my attention, recognizing our current state of affairs throughout the world. It feels as if this scripture is speaking about this very time. But when will the end come? There is no set date that man knows, only the Lord. What if it were today? What if today was the day Jesus returned? Would you be ready? What do I mean?

When Jesus returns, those that have accepted His gift of salvation will be called home to heaven. Those that have not, will face God’s wrath, years of horrible tribulation and then eternity in Hell.

While we may not know the day that will happen, we can be rest assured that today is the day of salvation. If you need to know Jesus and understand more about what He offers, please don’t delay! Message me and I’d be honored to help you learn more.

The time is now.