"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." - 1 Thessalonians 5:2-6

Y2K.  It seems that it comes up in almost every conversation that I am involved in.  It's on the cover of everything from TV Guide to Christianity Today to Computer Monthly.  There have been countless books about it, most of which are bestsellers.  Thousands of articles have been written about the upcoming beginning to the next millennium.  Everyone from housewives to computer programmers are talking about it.  Wall Street, banks, utilities, telecommunications, airlines, transportation...it seems like everyone is concerned about it...even Congress is talking about Y2K!

You know the drill...is the world going to shut down?  Are we going to be able to access our bank accounts?  Are the lights going to go out?  Is there going to be chaos, panic and anarchy?  Is this the end of the world?

Is it hype, or reality?

And somewhere in the midst of all of the talk is the question..."Is Jesus coming back?"  

All of this hoopla reminds me of when I was in the sixth grade.  I was what some would call the "teacher's pet."  Mrs. Stacy was my homeroom teacher and she absolutely loved me.  She was always bragging on me and telling everyone that they should try to be more like me.  I always did my very best to please her.

One day it was raining at lunch and we had to stay in our class during the lunch break.  Mrs. Stacy told us to stay in our seats and to not get up until she returned, because she was going to the office for a few minutes.  

While she was gone, a friend and I got up and started horsing around...pushing each other, just kidding around.  All of a sudden I looked up and Mrs. Stacy walked in the room.  The expression on her face said more than she did.  "Out in the hall," was all she said, but the look on her face said so much more.  She was disappointed in me.  She expected so much more out of me.  I knew better than to disobey her.  I was so embarrassed.

Is Y2K the "beginning of the end?"  Is Jesus coming back?  I don't know, but I do know that we don't want Jesus to come back and find us disobedient.  We don't want Him to come back and find us doing something that He told us not to do.  He will be disappointed if we are.  He expects so much more out of us and we know better than to disobey Him.

The Bible says that Christ is coming like a "thief in the night."  He's going to catch a lot of people off guard.  That could be at the stroke of midnight as December 31, 1999 turns into January 1, 2000.  

Or, it could be today.

Don't be caught by surprise.
 
"Let us watch and be sober"...may He find us faithful when He returns.

Have a "Wonderful DAY in Christ,"
Jimmy D. Brown
\o/ Praise Jesus!