The Heart Knows

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.
1st Thessalonians 4:16-18 NLT

Do you ever watch the YouTube videos of the soldiers returning to their families? From the youngest to the oldest, the depth of honesty in their response is overwhelming. All pretense, any pride for-the-sake-of-appearances, and all self-consciousness are thrown aside and what you experience is the intense integrity of the love and the long-anticipated reunion... and I cry every time with the overwhelming emotion of it.

In every situation imaginable, people are going on with their day-to-day living, doing whatever they need to do to cross one more day off the calendar toward that homecoming, but inside is that deep longing, the on-the-edge gnawing awareness that a part of you is missing and will soon be coming back. And the closer the day looms, even when you don't know the exact date, the more you feel it. The heart knows...But it's very clear in those videos whose hearts are involved and who are just observers...

Are we anticipating the return of Christ in that same manner? Are we crossing off the days that make it one day closer to His return? We don't have the exact date, but we know it's soon. Can't you feel it? The heart knows... Is your heart involved or are you just an observer? Will it be a grand reunion or grave regret? The choice is still yours. He loves you. Give Him your heart today.

Prayer:

Father,
            Our hearts are responding to Your most famous act of love - You loved us so much that You gave Your only Son, so that whoever would believe in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. How extraordinary that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and we believe in our heart that You raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. We can hardly stand to wait much longer. I know You're the only One who knows when You will send Jesus so we can be reunited. Even so, come quickly, Lord! In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen