Many Christians believe the Lord Jesus will soon come again to establish His eternal rule on earth as it is in heaven. This perspective is as old as the founding of the church for it is the subject of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians when he commands in his letter for the men to work instead of sitting idle waiting for the Lord’s return.

The Lord Jesus too tells His disciples they must work as long as there is light for, as recorded in today’s verse, night is coming when no no can work. Many Christians are acting as though they cannot work while they lament the evil in the world doing noting to counter it through the sharing of the gospel and the discipling of the nations.

When the church began, following the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead, there were only a handful of believers and a whole world of pagans.

The church, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, began the work of sharing the gospel and discipling the saved eventually influencing the world with the commands of Jesus Christ.

Many Christians today appear to have given up on this work making no effort to win the lost or even to give generously of their treasure to such efforts.

The church is the salt of the earth but it is losing its saltiness becoming worthless to the world.

Whether the time is near or not for Jesus’ return it is impossible for us to know but what we can know is the Lord’s expectation that His people be found ready for His return .

This readiness is defined by Him as being actively engaged in His work, faithful to His commands, so that when He comes as as a thief in the night we will be found faithful.