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Thursday September 2, 2021

Taken or left

So stay vigilant, since you do not know when your Lord will come. Matthew 24:42

The whole of chapter 24 of the Gospel of Matthew is devoted to the return of Jesus, to his advent. Jesus calls his own to be vigilant, for no one knows the day or the hour of his coming, nor the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone (v. 36).

Jesus gives the example of Noah, of the ark he built, and of the flood that surprised the people of his day, because they had not listened to Noah, this preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5). Yet until the last moment, the entrance to the ark, where they were said to have been saved, remained open. So, at the time of judgment, Noah and his family were taken into the ark, and then God himself closed the door ; the rest of mankind was left in peril of judgment by the flood.

Jesus announces : It will also happen at the coming of the Son of Man (v. 37). He describes the recklessness of men who will lead their lives like the people of Noah's day, according to their pleasures (vs. 38-39). Jesus specifies that on his return : of two men [...] one will be taken and the other left ; of two women [...] one will be taken and the other left (verses 40-41). Let us be vigilant! Let's be ready when Jesus returns ! Thus, we will be caught, caught up to meet the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Let us not risk being left, exposed to the judgment of God.

Dorothy Bonnal

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Proposed reading : Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 24, verses 36 to 42.

Source (Live Today)