For the past several years my wife and I have been visited by our neighbor's cat. His name is Paulie. Whenever he shows up at our back door my wife always goes outside to pet him and take him a saucer of milk. My wife loves Paulie. Paulie loves the birds at our bird feeder.
This fall however Paulie was absent from our backyard. That was odd we thought. Then we saw a plywood sign at the entrance to our subdivision. "Lost Cat" it read, along with a phone number and . . . a picture of Paulie.
My wife was very sad, hoping that her, I mean our neighbor's cat, would be found. A few weeks later the sign came down. No sign of Paulie either. We kept looking for him but he never showed. We figured the coyotes must have gotten him. Or a car.
This past week we received some snow. I always check in the backyard after a snow to see how much we've gotten. And so I did. And there, to my surprise, were some cats tracks in the snow.
No other cat ever came up and looked in our door like Paulie did. Was it him? We don't know. We haven't seen him. But one thing is for sure we are now hopeful! We are looking forward to seeing him one day, if indeed it is him. Wouldn't that be nice?
Why aren't you and I this excited, this hopeful, about see Jesus' soon return? We just go on with our lives like it's any other day. Our pastor tells us that there is absolutely nothing that HAS to happen in the grand scheme of things before the rapture of the church. It could happen any day. Why aren't we super excited . . . every day?
"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near." - Luke 21:28
Do we not really believe Jesus is coming back? Or just that it probably won't happen in our life times? Unknown. But I think we SHOULD be hopeful. And I think we need to be SO hopeful that people will ask us why. And then we get to tell them the reason for the hope that we have in our hearts.
I used part of this passage last week I think but this whole paragraph is good.
"Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19After being made alive, d he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him." - 1 Peter 3:13-22
Living Hope - Phil Wickham
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