"The vultures gather where there is a dead body."
Jesus declares that God's kingdom is already among us. It is the kingdom to come and it is the kingdom that is already present. We have expectation and current reality.
It is often hard to stop and see it in the present. Disappointments and trials keep us wound up and then we miss it.
The advice to keep ready for the day of the Lord captures our imagination as we consider the doctrine of rapture and loved ones being "left behind." As a child, I remember seeing a film where loved ones were taken and some were left. Later, when I was playing in the backyard, I went into the house. My mother had gone to the front to water the flower beds but I couldn't find her and I thought that I had been left behind.
It was very scary for a four or five year old and I later found out that she had experienced similar fears when she was younger.
I believe that the concept of being "left behind" may be more figurative than literal. Some of us see the kingdom for what it is here and now and others may miss it. We do need to be ready but I don't think God wants us living in fear. We would then miss out on all the joy of the kingdom of God at hand!
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