Pastor H. Al Sims, Jr., Senior Pastor
Bethesda Church of God, Sumter, SC
When I was a child, one of my favorite shows was SUPERMAN The show would start with people looking up into the sky, and the announcer would say, “It’ s a bird, It’ s a plane, now it’ s Superman. My imagination would run wild after watching the action-packed adventures of a man that could fly He could leap over buildings in a single bound, and he could do it faster than a speeding bullet. So I would find a bed sheet or blanket and tie it around my neck and then jump off the front porch trying to imitate Superman My flight times were rather short, as you can imagine, but it did not discourage me from climbing back up the porch steps and trying again and again. I finally realized that I was not Superman
Lately, there has been a lot of looking up into the sky by people trying to figure out what was that object flying over their heads. Some said it was a balloon; others thought it to be a UFO, but what we found out is that it was a Chinese Spy Balloon/Weather Balloon Whatever it was, it had the attention of residents from the west coast to the east coast until it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean
The Bible says in Hebrews 9:28, “unto them that look for Him, Jesus, shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation,” so we should be looking up. We have another promise to make us want to look up, and that is found in John 14:1-3 Jesus Himself is promising that He will return again and take us with Him to heaven. That event is referred to as the rapture or catching away. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:52 that this event would happen suddenly and happen in a moment in the twinkling of an eye That is faster than a speeding bullet, and, in that instant, we will be changed and taken on a plain air ride to ever be with the Lord
So how should we be looking for something that is so fast? A twinkling of the eye has been estimated to be eleven one hundredths of a second, so understand our looking up and watching is not about seeing the event but being prepared for the event. So if your daily routine is to examine yourself spiritually to make sure you have not picked up any sinful spots, wrinkles, or blemishes, then you are looking Luke 21:28 gives us hope and joyful anticipation as it directs us to look up for our redemption draws nigh.
So the next time you look up and think it’ s a bird or a plane, who knows, it may just be Jesus returning in the clouds to rapture us away
