Thursday, November 21, 2013

Doctrine and Covenants 34:11-12

"And if you are faithful, behold, I am with you until I come—
And verily, verily, I say unto you, I come quickly. I am your Lord and your Redeemer. Even so. Amen."
Doctrine and Covenants 34:11-12


A lot of scriptures tell us that the Lord is coming quickly, or coming soon.  And, depending on what you think of as the definitions of those words, the time seems to slip by without the Lord coming.  In this section, which was given in 1830, it is talking about the Lord coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  I believe it will happen... and I even believe that it will happen soon.  I just think that we and God have different perspectives sometimes. :)  Even we have different perspectives/definitions of these words depending on what we are comparing it to.  If we were talking about seeing each other over the holidays, "see you soon" could mean next week (if we're talking about Thanksgiving), or in a month (if we are talking about Christmas).  Soon could be 10 minutes if we live close to one another, or a 6 hour plane ride if we live across the country.  Quickly is similar.  If we are playing a video game, fast or quick could be nanoseconds.  If we're travelling to China, the quickest way might take much longer.
Part of God coming quickly is about our preparation.  How long is it going to take us to prepare for his return?  Compared to that timeframe, we should get moving now.  Maybe yesterday. :)  There is a lot of work to do in the world, and lots of individual self-improvement we need to make before we're ready to stand before God.
The first verse also has the "I am with you until I come" part.  ... Which is an amazing promise, and even though it might look contradictory, we know it isn't.  God being with us until he comes is an amazing spiritual blessing that we can tap into as we prepare for his physical return.
Today, let's be faithful and invite the Lord to be with us.  Let's not delay or put off repentance or progress.  Even though quickly might not mean tomorrow, it still has meaning.  Partially at least that we should always be preparing and getting better.  And also, that we will get to see our greatest friend soon. :)

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