Thieves

 If you’re not home, does it matter whether the thief comes in the day or at night? A thief will do what a thief will do, whether it’s light out or not, as long as he gets the opportunity to do it. If Jesus is coming as a thief in the night, it likely means He’ll find a lot more people than one might think sleeping, not watching, and not being prepared for the eventuality of His return.

Yes, it’s a strange thing to think about, but that’s how my mind works, and the specificity of the comparison was always one that got my wheels turning. Why as a thief in the night? Why not just as a thief? The only insinuation that fits, that makes sense, that brings clarity to an otherwise muddled analogy is that when He comes, many will be asleep because the faux-shepherds and outright wolves managed to minimize the urgency of the hour.

That is the most heartbreaking thing of all. That though they know the Master will return, the servants will be preoccupied with other things, not having prepared for His coming, not awake and watchful for His appearing. Why would they be? They were told by those supposedly entrusted by the Master to oversee the household that it’s one big party right up until the end; then, when He returns, He’ll be so glad to see them that He’ll take them to His bosom no matter their condition.

Passed out in the koi pond wearing filthy rags and dreaming of your glory days? Come on in; Jesus is waiting. I always imagined the Master’s house would have a koi pond. It’s classy. Anyway, at some point, we will realize the full extent of the damage aberrant teachings have inflicted upon the common man, and that’s when the anger will boil up. And it won’t be that fading anger where you realize you got duped into shelling out forty bucks for the Trimmer You wellness package, guaranteed to melt off the pounds, which was just an 8x5 card that said: “eat less, exercise more!”. It will be the type of anger that will have air time because it’s not forty bucks we’re talking about here; it’s eternity.

It’s not as though we didn’t know the times we were living. It’s not as though we’re not seeing the events the Bible foretells of that will herald the last days, but rather than be sober and vigilant, we’re preoccupied with knowing what the Book tells us we were not given to know.

No man knows the day or the hour should suffice for the followers of Christ. He’s coming back! That’s all that matters. He’s coming back, and His reward is with Him to give to every one according to their work. That we do the work should be the focus because He’s keeping track of how much we do and whether or not we do it according to His instructions.

When He returns, it will be with ledger in hand, and you’ll get paid for every hour you put in. That’s what He said. What other people say varies, but I’m still going to go with Jesus on this one.

Revelation 22:12-14, “And behold I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.”

First, Jesus tells us that He’s coming back and what He’s bringing, then details His credentials, so all who read His words might understand why He isn’t just making empty promises or why, though He might want to, He will be unable to follow through.

He can return, He can bring His reward, and He can give to every one according to their work because He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. It’s not some nobody that’s making you this promise; It’s the only One who can follow through and keep it.

Although rarely focused on in the contemporary church, there is an expectation of how He should find you upon His return. I know pointing out the obvious and having the Scripture references to back it up is unloving and lacking in grace, works salvation, or my internalized need to be punished for perceived inadequacies, but at least you won’t be showing up to my house with pitchforks and torches. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a good thing because I can’t afford tall fences, private security, or to live in a gated community like the pimps insisting on smooth sailing ahead while bleeding you for your last dime.

The Book is clear that Jesus will return. It is also clear that when He returns, not all will be found ready and waiting. There will be a clamor for oil, and there will be a clamor for light by all those who squandered the time they had and did not ensure that they had oil in both their lamps and vessels.

The foolish virgins made no provisions for any delay on behalf of the bridegroom. They had firmly established in their minds that He would come at an appointed time, a time of their choosing rather than His, and assumed that He would bend to their will and do as they desired.

Why have extra oil when you won’t need it? As the old maxim goes, better to have and not need than need and not have.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.