“It will be the same as it was in the days of Lot: People went on eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building. But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:28-30)
We are assured that the Kingdom will come, but many of us ask: What do we do until then? Many Christians ponder this question, and there is a simple and powerful answer. We are to do the will of God. We are to live a life in relationship with Jesus, praying and desiring to know and do His will in our lives, only concerned about the End as a means to stoke urgency in our relationships to spread the Good News.
The reality is that scripture is very clear on Christ’s return. Life will be business as usual for the entire world when Christ returns, and it will be shocking. But what should “business as usual” mean for those who are set apart from this world? What does it mean to live for the will of God, knowing that Jesus warned, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21).
We will never live our lives perfectly. It is why we need Christ. But we can better live for the will of the Father in a few ways. We can have faithful endurance. We will face trials and tribulation of all sorts, but be encouraged in the truth that despite the challenge, will be trading a perishable crown for one that is imperishable. We can live in complete joy. As Christians, we have reason more than anyone else: an eternity set aside for us! And more than that, heaven is rejoicing in this very moment for every soul that has repented!
We can rely on Christ’s righteousness (and his justice). Daily we see injustice and desire for justice to reign. We may even play a role in bringing justice. But ultimately, Christ’s justice will reign. Lastly, we can continually receive Christ and be renewed by Him. He is the living water and the bread of life. We can rely on Him and the Spirit that indewelled Him. After all, we have the same Spirit that he had.
Christ will return, and it will turn out as he said. Realistically, we will likely be living our lives “business as usual,” but we can do so much differently than the world. We can do so in a way that is wholly in Christ, in His power, and according to the will of the Father.