"I Will Come Back and Take You to Be with Me"

In John 14:3 we hear Jesus tell His followers, "...if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me..." Two thoughts: First, Jesus is coming back. He could come back years from now or before you finish reading these words. We are not told exactly when this will occur only that we are to be prepared when He does. At His return He is to find us busy serving Him. Are you actively serving? Second, should we die before His return (the reality for most of us, perhaps), I am convinced that His promise to come and take us still stands. Sadly, as a pastor, I see more people in their dying days than I'd like. With each passing saint, I become more convinced that Jesus meets those who are His own as they pass from this life to their eternal home with God. A brief example will help illustrate what I'm saying: Manuel was a young man several of us met in El Salvador. With physical and mental limitations, Manuel spent his life in the dark and dirty confines of his home along the abandoned railroad tracks near Santa Ana. He was cared for by his aging grandmother who spent her time trying to find food for her and Manuel. As you consider how difficult it would be to live such a life, remember that this is also the situation in which Manuel recently died. No sterile hospital bed with trained medical staff. Just Manuel, his gradmother, and... Jesus. Manuel had heard the gospel - that Jesus loved Him and had died in His place on the cross. And I believe that Manuel accepted Jesus' offer of forgiveness and peace with God. I believe this because I'm told that as he passed away, Manuel raised his hands, his eyes, his voice, and his hopes to Heaven and called out "Senor" as if Jesus Himself had come to take him home. I believe that is exactly what happened. True to His word, Jesus came back to take Manuel with Him - to be where He is. This is the same hope that we have in Christ. From Grace, George