When would now be a good time?

 I want to thank you for indulging me. Whether you have realized it or not, my posts are more than just the musing of a bored and convoluted mind. It is working out of my understanding of my relationship with God. This is different than working out my faith or my salvation. I see my faith, or rather trust, as being in my actions. Similarly, I see my salvation, my being freed from the bondage of sin, as also being in how I act. In my studies I am exposed to different theologies, some of the times they stand in opposition of each other. Thus, my way sorting through this dilemma has been to write. I have had a number of people thank me for doing this, as it has not only given them pause to think, but has affirmed that there is more than one way to understand our belief.
          My focus today is on when is Christ coming back? Paul and the other early church pillars seem to have thought that Jesus’ return was imminent. They were obviously wrong. But for the past two thousand years, we have lived with the tension that he might be back tomorrow. There has been a whack of embarrassing predictions that he will arrive on this date and at this time. There are websites dedicated to the misunderstanding of the Book of Revelation that try to calculate current events as indicators of how close he might be.
          I am beginning to suspect that, like a teacher wanting the classroom to behave, we have been told the teacher will return “any moment now.” Thus, we keep listening for footsteps in the hallway. When I was a drunken charismatic Lutheran, I used to pray that Jesus would not return on those evenings when I was drunk and/or stoned. It would be totally embarrassing to be absolutely wasted when Jesus got back. Now that I am older and sober, I am beginning to wonder what is taking so long?
          In all seriousness, it is a good question. When will he be back? It seems that the longer he takes to get here, the more evil, vileness, and brutality can be done. Had Jesus shown up earlier, Nazi Germany would never have happened. (Or so we think.) In the book of Romans, Paul notes that all of creation groans in anticipation.
           The source of my impatience and my wondering is self-centred. I am clean and sober; the misdeeds of my life are generally based on reminiscing of early days or yelling at the cat to get off my keyboard. I am ready for his return. I have seen enough of evil and suffering. I want this all to end. Yet, when I think of my younger days. I was not ready. And now, even though I am ready, how many aren’t? As you know, I am not a great supporter of the doctrine of eternal conscious torment, also known as Hell. Yet, I do believe there is an accounting of our lives. Thus, it might be nice to allow another drunken charismatic Lutheran, or Baptist, or Buddhist, or what have you, the opportunity to come to their own grace.
          On a more serious note. There is a fatalism that exists in the theology of the return of Christ. After all, if he is going to arrive and set the world right, then why muster the energy to do so now and do so ourselves? Our approach to the now but not yet “Kingdom of God” can produce this lazy, fatalistic approach to life. We need to understand and embrace that we are the Kingdom of God. As I have written before, the Kingdom of God lives in the spaces between us. This is why working out our trust and salvation is a matter of how we treat the person beside us. We are called to live out, “So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.”
          All of the parables relating to the return of Christ emphasize being engaged in  the world around us. We are called to be active stewards of God’s Kingdom. To feed the homeless, care for the widow, orphan, and foreigner. In other words, “Jesus is coming! Look busy!”
 Anyway, that is my opinion.