How much thought do you give to the “rapture”? You know, when God will miraculously take believers out of the world without warning, leaving those who still have not chosen Jesus on this earth to suffer? I think about it a lot. There have been times when all of the sudden I can’t find my wife around the house and for a brief moment I think, “Did she get raptured? Did I miss it?” But inevitably I realize that it hasn’t happened, that God is still giving sinners a chance to come to him. But when it does happen we will all know it, and those left behind will hopefully realize the error of their ways, repent and turn to him. In Luke chapter 17, verses 34 and 35, Jesus says:
"I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be take and the other left."
This is a warning that Jesus gives us well before the appointed time. Generations have lived and died, never to see this day. But it will come, and it will come without warning. Some will be taken and some will be left behind. And the only difference between the two will be whether we’ve given our life to Jesus or not. The verse preceding this one says: “Whoever tries to keep his own life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”. I encourage you to not try and hold on to this present life, but to lose it for the promise of eternal life.
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There will come a day when without warning, followers of Jesus will be raptured or taken. They will disappear without a trace, taken up into heaven to dwell with the Father for all eternity. If we are truthful with ourselves, all of us want to be in the group that is taken. And to do that, Jesus tells us that we will have to lose our life - to no longer live for ourselves, but to live for him. Even if we don’t live long enough to see the rapture, we need to heed this warning, because we also don’t know when we will die. It could happen in an instant, it could happen without warning. And just like the rapture if you haven’t made a decision for Christ, you will have missed your window. So please, if you haven’t given your life for Christ, if you haven’t acknowledged him as Lord, repented of your sins, and have given up your life so that it will be preserved with him, I encourage you to do it today.