The freckled teenager with red hair wore his t-shirt proud. It fitted him everywhere it touched and read: “Look busy…Jesus is Coming”. To be honest, it made me laugh.

I asked my mate Mac to guess how many times the birth of Jesus was mentioned in the New Testament. He guessed 150.

I asked him how many times the death of Jesus was mentioned in the New Testament.
He guessed 200. (He also asked if Jesus actually invented the bar stool like in the film the Passion of Christ. I told him to stop talking.)

I asked him how many times the resurrection of Jesus was mentioned in the New Testament. He guessed 50.

I asked him how many times the Return of Jesus was mentioned in the New Testament. He said: “Never. That’s a myth made up by the Americans.”

Nine of the New Testament authors mention the Return of Jesus specifically and most of them numerous times.

The New Testament mentions the Return of Jesus over sixty times. Jesus talked about it in every account of his life to thousands and thousands of people.

But the reality is that though I can talk about the birth and death of Jesus and it only freaks my mates out a little bit, if I mention his Return, they start taking my measurements for a straitjacket.

In Matthew’s account, Jesus said this sobering message: “Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.”

The bible then goes on about how this message will appear foolish to those who do not believe. Unfortunately, as a Christian, I cannot pick and chose the bits of Jesus’ message that suit me; though sometimes it would help my image with the lads.

Since I started writing these blogs I have heard mixed messages from those who do not believe in Jesus. Some have said they are encouraging, others challenging. Some friends have asked me to stop writing them for fear my journalism career will be jeopardised, and one stranger told me to stop gobbing off about Jesus and write about someone more relevant, like Russell Brand.

The truth is that some of the more tricky parts of the message of Jesus are the bits which say he is coming again to judge the living and the dead. (I can hear the sighs of my mates as they read that last sentence, but bear with me.)

The same book which enables us to stop working on December 25, the same book which provides so many structures in our current political system, the same book which is still sworn on in every court up and down the land….goes on and on about the Return of Jesus.

So what now? I think the ginger kid was more right than he knows. We need to get busy. We need to get busy with one thing.

Consider this in 1 John Chapter 5:

This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Get busy believing and you will overcome. That’s what the Bible says.

Maybe next week’s blog will be about Russell Brand.

Peace.