If Only We Knew When

 

 

If only we knew when he was coming

There are so many things we would change,

Like a lot of things that matter now:

All these priorities would be rearranged.

 

Some would wait till the day before

And put a lot of things in place

Just like we do at Christmas time

As though running a short distance race.

 

Top priority would be his coming

I am sure it’s not the top priority now,

Maybe those unbelievers who paid him no mind

Would be practising how to bow.

 

But let’s be practical and let’s be real

More than two thousand years have passed,

And the longer it is before his return

The longer ‘twill be our task.

 

But what if he were coming tomorrow?

And what if we only knew today?

I could just imagine the frantic rush-

It would be all serious business and no play.

 

You see, our belief about eschatology

Should influence how we live today,

If we believe he could return tomorrow

We would be acting without delay.

 

 

But maybe we really don’t believe that

Hence, why we’re just coasting along,

And just putting a few things in place

Just in case our thinking is wrong.

 

The Thessalonians in the early Church

Felt Jesus would return in their time

And in such anticipation refused to work

But they had to change their mind.

 

If they refuse to work they should not eat

This was the Apostle Paul’s command,

That may seem harsh in a Christian church

But it really was the better plan.

 

You maybe wondering what I am getting at

Based on this title I have chosen,

It is that we too have neglected the work

That our Saviour, the Lord has given.

 

 

This is the time for the Gospel to spread:

With this we should be occupied,

Instead we are caught up with frivolous things

And this anomaly should not be denied.

 

It is true we can’t keep a frenetic pace,

That is not humanly possible

But we must keep in mind the Great Commission

And ensure we preach the Gospel.

 

The fact that he died for our sins

And the sins of the whole wide world,

The fact that he rose again from the dead

As recorded in his Holy Word.

 

The fact that he is coming again

And none of us knows the time,

The fact that he is the only pardon for sin

Regardless of what others may opine.

 

If only we knew when, I repeat again,

Why should that be the significance?

The fact of the matter that he is coming again

Should be the fact that makes the difference.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2019