The elderly Christian man was very faithful to His Lord and a devoted member of the local congregation of the Lord’s church. He also endeavored to be a good neighbor and have a positive influence on those around him. For several years, he lived in a retirement community, where a Jewish couple lived right next door. Over the years, this elderly Christian man developed a friendship with the elderly Jewish man, and each man talked about his faith with the other. Both men were very committed. The Christian man tried several times to get his neighbor to attend worship with him but to no avail.
The day came when the Jewish man asked the Christian man if he would go to Synagogue with him on the following Saturday. The Christian man was intrigued by the idea. He had attended various religious bodies throughout his life before his conversion but had never been to a Synagogue. He thought that this might be a way to get his friend to “return the favor” and “come to church” with him the following week. An added benefit was that the Christian man would not be missing a worship service at the church because the Jews went to Synagogue on Saturday. After a short while, the Christian man agreed to go with his neighbor.
But, as the day drew closer and closer, the Christian man became more and more uneasy about going to Synagogue. “They are going to be teaching things and doing things that I do not agree with and that are not according to Scripture,” he thought. “But it may help me to learn more about that religion and how to reach my neighbor.” He struggled with his decision, until he had this thought—“Is that where I want Jesus to find me when He returns? Would Jesus be confused to find me in a place where He knows I don’t agree with what is happening? Would He think that is where I really want to be and that I was ok with everything happening there?” With that thought, he knocked on his neighbor’s door and told him that he would not be attending Synagogue with him that Saturday.
That’s a pretty powerful thought, isn’t it? Do you ever have a hard time deciding whether you should go somewhere or not, whether you should do something or not? The reality is that Jesus is going to come “as a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2). At the very moment He returns, what do you want Him to find you doing (or not doing)? Where do you want to be (or not be) when He returns? If there is some activity or location that would take some explaining on your part in an attempt to justify it to Jesus when He returns, that ought to tell you something!
If an elderly Christian man filtered his decisions through the thought of Jesus’ return, so should I!