Thief

I wonder why Jesus' return is described in the Bible like a thief coming in the night.

There are two things thieves do in the night: sneak in, and take your stuff. I get the sneaking part, that we'll be surprised by Jesus' return. But the thieving part doesn't make as much sense.

It seems like maybe comparing the second coming to a lightning bolt would be better. Lightning bolts are surprises too, and their arrival is spectacular. Lots of noise, a flash of light, maybe a splintered, smoking tree - dramatic and powerful.

Peter describes it both ways, or actually he seems to mix the two up. In 2 Peter 2:10 he writes, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare."

The way Peter makes it sound, this thief is going to come with a bang, exploding the universe and burning up the H's and O's and N's in our atmosphere and the carbons and other elements that cover the ground with vegetation. The earth will be a naked, smoking ball. Not really sneaky, but quite a shock.

I guess in the end, the two key points are the same. First, if you're not ready when it happens, you'll be out of luck; there won't be time to react.

Second, don't count on saving anything you own. Whether the thief steals it or the big bang burns it up, you'll stand before God that day with nothing to show Him but your heart. It's either going to be miraculously made snow-white by a bath in Jesus' blood, or it will be a dirty, smelly lump of rotten meat.

Getting ready for that day is a lot easier than I make it, and harder than I realize. The easy part is confessing that there's nothing I can do to get ready, and putting all my hope in work Jesus has already done. The hard part is living like I really believe that.