“What difference does it make if Jesus is going to return?” a minister asked. Sadly, he had missed one of the greatest incentives for holy living given in the Bible. The constant expectation of the Lord’s return is a purifying hope.

Did you expect the Lord to come last week? How did it change your life? What did you leave out of your conversation, not wanting to stand in His presence with wicked words? What thoughts did you dismiss from your mind? What temptations did you conquer?

Or were there no changes due to His expected return? Perhaps the second coming of Christ is but a doctrine to which you say you subscribe, a part of your church statement of faith. To some, the rapture is only a point to argue, a good bumper- sticker topic or slogan producer. Like the Pharisees, they have all their prophetic events properly placed in their minds but their lives are not affected by these tremendous truths. How about you’?

If you are not living differently because Christ may return at any moment, you have missed the point of the Lord’s command: “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” (Matthew 24:42).

Try this tough question. If the prospect of Christ’s imminent return has not changed your way of living, do you really believe He’s coming again?

What adjustments need to be made in your life today, in view of His promised return? In making them you will demonstrate the power of the purifying hope.