Stormy Weather

Matthew 24:29-30

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It was 8:30 in the morning on a day last week and a storm system came through. The clouds made it so dark it appeared like it was nine o’clock at night. It was just eerie. As I went about my errands later that day, twice I heard people discussing the weird weather that we’d had. One of them said “I thought it was the end of the world.” Another discussion was centered on “I thought it was the apocalypse.” Why would a weird weather occurrence cause people to think about the end of the world?

Well, this is what Jesus said in Matthew 24.

“Immediately after the misery of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. And at that time all the nations of the earth will mourn.” (Matthew 24:29-30)

These weird, almost supernatural, events caused people to think about the end of the world. Those types of events are a reminder that there are forces at work that are outside of our control. They’re a reminder of our frailty. They also must remind people that God is going to judge. Jesus very clearly taught that he is going to come again. And when he comes again, he’s not coming as the humble Savior to die. He’s coming as the triumphant King to reign.

When Jesus comes again he is going to gather all the people that have ever lived and he will judge them. So how can you be ready for that day? By faith in Jesus. By trusting that Jesus is your Savior, you can be prepared. The term Judgment Day sounds so scary. God is gonna judge me! But what if you already knew the verdict? What if you already knew what God was going to say to you on that day? You can.

If you reject Jesus, if you don’t believe in him, then you can be certain that God will look at your life and all the things that you’ve done and the things that you’ve failed to do, and he will condemn you for them. You will get what you deserve. But if you trust in Jesus, if you believe that God punished him in your place, if you believe that he took your sins and paid for them on the cross, then you can also know that God will speak words of love to you on that day. He will declare you forgive and he will declare you righteous in his sight. And he will take you to be with him in heaven.

So Judgement Day doesn’t have to be scary. Even the thought of that eerie storm front coming through shouldn’t terrify. It should remind us of Judgement Day. Then the Christian can grab on to Christ. In Christ I know the verdict. In Christ I know that my sins are forgiven. In Christ I know I am not guilty. May the peace that only Christ can give fill your lives now and prepare you for judgment day. Amen.