Lord, Come Quickly!

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.  Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,  because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.  For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  For we live by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord  So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Do you ever long for the day that Jesus will come, and this earthly life will end?  Sometimes I do.  I grow weary of the "stuff" of life - the problems, the busyness, the schedules, the trials - and Heaven sounds so much better.  And it SHOULD sound better to Christians, and we SHOULD long for that day!  But, while we are here on earth, we must live our lives here on earth.  We shouldn't ever be so comfortable on earth, in this physical body, that we don't want to leave it, but we should live it in a way that pleases God, and in a way that brings others to Him.

I used to work for a doctor who would sometimes get a little frustrated at people who seemed negative and were having a pity party for themselves.  We had many blind patients that never acted as if they were blind, but then had many seeing patients that didn't realize all they could see.  I remember him saying about one particular person, "You live until you die!".  In other words, don't stop living while you're still alive.  There is something you can do as long as you are still here.

Another quote I remember was from a lady at a Bible class teacher's workshop.  She would say, "When can you stop serving the Lord?  When you die!"  And that is so true, too!  

As long as we are living, we must live for Him.  The scriptures above prove these two statements, but the last one gets straight to the point.  We will be judged on what we do in this body - whether those things were good, or bad.  So, how we use our body now matters.  Not that we should be content in our body on earth, but that we use it entirely for Him.

Lord, come quickly!  That is my plea.  There was a time when I wouldn't have been able to say that.  I was selfishly wanting to live this life for myself. My children were little, and I couldn't bear the thought of not getting to raise them.  But the older I get, and the older they get, I would be just fine with Jesus coming back right now.  And, in fact, with the troubles and trials I see in the lives of those around me, I'm anticipating that day even more.  On that day, the troubles of this earthly life with be gone.  Those who have been found faithful will live with Him in eternity.  How could we not long for that day?  It's a glorious thought!