Way back in high school we had an excellent English teacher. She demanded a lot from us: memorizing a new poem each week, reading piles of literature. Often she would leave the room while we were working, after giving a strict warning for silence. Of course, there were those who could not keep quiet, but one near the door was to listen for her high heels clicking back to the classroom. “Here she comes,” the watchman would say; and through the new quietness came the sound of her footsteps. She was on her way.

During the week before Good Friday, Jesus predicted to his disciples that he was coming again. In Matthew 24, he said that there would be “wars and rumors of wars,” an increase of wickedness in society, and trouble in the church. These words were for the church’s comfort! As Paul wrote a second time to Timothy, he gave insight into this wickedness—the trouble in society—by writing about people being “lovers of themselves, lovers of money, . . . disobedient to parents, . . . lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (3:1–5). These words fit our age! Comfort, yes, but also instruction.

Of course, many tell us that we know more about this in this age of social media. Perhaps, but this does not give us a pass to careless living. The footsteps are here! Yet, we do not know when Christ will come again; the signs continue to multiply. We shudder at the hanky-panky in government, the disastrous storms that come, and the effect of sin on society, including abortion and infanticide. Nevertheless, we allow ourselves to live as if we are of the world, not just in the world. “The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” mold our ways with our permission, but we are not molded by the way of Scripture. We choose to ignore the screaming signs given by the Lord so we can live a double life: we call ourselves Christians, believers by grace, but at the same time no longer care if we are also friends of the world.

Thus, we do not care if the church is, in reality, worldly religion. Are we like the wise virgins or the foolish virgins in Christ’s parable? Don’t ignore his footsteps. Christ is coming again. Are we ready?

Sad to say, there are other footsteps that we do not hear, for, as one Dutch preacher put it, “the devil wears bedroom slippers.” Yet, he “goes about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet 5:8). True, Satan is bound so he cannot deceive the nations (Rev. 20:3), but he goes after individuals—believers (he has everyone else!)—attempting to smash our testimony, our comfort, and even the authority of Scripture (“Has God said?”). He convinces us to live as friends of the world.

Whom and what do we really love? Whom do we really serve?

Rev. Jerome Julien is a retired minister in the URCNA living in Hudsonville, MI, and serves on the board of Reformed Fellowship. He and his wife, Reita, are members of Walker URC in Grand Rapids, MI.