Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. (Jude 21)
I ONCE LIVED in the country and drove my children back and forth to the city pool for swimming lessons. One hot summer day as we drove toward town, we saw a dog sitting by the side of the road. Nothing but open fields were along that stretch of highway. When we returned a few hours later, the dog was still there. I phoned my neighbor to tell her about it, hoping she would adopt him because I could not. She said somebody had probably abandoned him and he was waiting for the owner to return. How sad I felt! I suspected the owner would not return. Yet the dog waited because he loved and trusted his master to come back and get him. The next morning the dog was gone, and I prayed the owner had returned.
Jude reminds us that while we wait for our Lord’s return, we must not give up, but keep ourselves in His love. We can do that by loving one another and telling how Jesus heals us from illnesses, restores broken relationships, and gives us favor with our neighbors. As we talk about Him and His love for us, we feel His presence as though we can actually see Him. Waiting is wonderful when the One we love is already present with us.
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Alice Thomas is an adjunct professor of English at Lone Star Montgomery College in Conroe, Texas. She loves to garden and read.
