Jesus and the Kingdom of God

Luke 17:20-37 (New Living Translation)

20One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”

Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs.21You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”

22Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. 23People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. 24For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes. 25But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.

26“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 27In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.

28“And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building—29until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. 32Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! 33If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.34That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. 35Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.”

37“Where will this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked.

Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”

What difference would it make in your life if Jesus returned today?

Life will be going on as usual on the day Christ returns. There will be no warnings. Most people will be going about their everyday tasks, indifferent to the things of God. They will be as surprised by Christ's return as the people in Noah's day were by  the flood (Gen. 6-9) or the people in Lot's day by the destruction of sodom (Gen. 19). We don't know the time of Christ's return, but we do know that He is coming, we must be morally and spiritually ready. Live as if Jesus were returning today.