future now
“As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They ate and drank, they took husbands and wives, right up to the day Noah entered the ark — and when the flood came, it destroyed them all.” —Luke 17:26-27
At the end of the world, many people will not be prepared. This has also been the case with Noah’s flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and other catastrophes. Thus, to be prepared for the future, we must be prepared in the present for anything.
Are you ready for the end of the world and Jesus’ final coming now? Are you ready to die now? Are you ready to be martyred for Jesus now? If we’re not ready to die now, then we’re not ready to live the abundant life in Christ.
To be ready for anything now, we must be living in and for Jesus alone. Jesus is our only Hope, and the only Hope we need. Jesus is the Lord of the past, the present, and the future (see Heb 13:8). Jesus is the only name “in the whole world given to men by which we are to be saved” (Acts 4:12). Without Jesus, we can do nothing (Jn 15:5). In Jesus, nothing is impossible (Lk 1:37). Jesus is God, Who “is Love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 Jn 4:16). “There is no condemnation now for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rm 8:1). When Jesus is our Life (see Jn 14:6; 11:25), we have eternal life. In Jesus, we will escape “the wrath to come” (1 Thes 1:10), for the Lord has plans for our welfare, not for woe — plans to give us a future full of hope (Jer 29:11). Give your life totally to Jesus now. Then look forward in joy to the future.
Prayer: Father, make all who read this holy in every aspect of their conduct (1 Pt 1:15).
Promise: “Look out that you yourselves do not lose what you have worked for; you must receive your reward in full.” —2 Jn 8
Praise: One of St. Albert’s greatest works was to help in discipling of one of his students, St. Thomas Aquinas.
Reference:
Rescript: "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from Octobert 1, 2024, through November 30, 2024. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio January 24, 2024"
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.