September 4, 2026

The Buses Have Returned

Matthew 24:32 – “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.”

The first yellow bus of the season came around the corner just after seven in the morning, flashers blinking, stop sign swinging out from its side as it slowed for a group of kids waiting at the curb. Nothing else about the neighborhood had changed. The same houses, the same trees, the same stretch of road that had been quiet all summer. But that one bus, appearing right on schedule, told every driver on that street everything they needed to know. Summer was over. School had started. A new season had begun, announced by nothing more than a familiar yellow shape turning the corner.

Nobody needed an official calendar to confirm it. The bus itself was the confirmation, a sign so reliable that people set their mornings around it without a second thought. It did not explain itself or ask permission to be believed. It simply appeared, right when it always appears, and the neighborhood adjusted accordingly.

Jesus told His disciples to watch the fig tree for that same reason. When its branches grow tender and the leaves come out, summer is near, He said, not because anyone needed to guess at the season but because the sign itself was unmistakable once you knew what to watch for. He was not only describing trees. He was preparing His followers to recognize the signs surrounding His own return, conditions and events that would announce themselves plainly to those paying attention, even while the rest of the world went on as if nothing had changed.

That is the part easy to miss. The bus does not wait for the neighborhood to notice it. It simply arrives, and life either adjusts around it or gets left behind by it. Most people on that street will not think twice about a yellow bus turning the corner. It will not interrupt their morning or change their plans. But for the families who have been watching the calendar, counting down the days, laying out clothes the night before, that same bus means everything is about to change.

Christ’s return works the same way. It will not ask the world’s permission to arrive on schedule. It will simply come, exactly when it was always going to come, and the only real question left is which kind of person is standing at the curb when it does. Those who never watched for it will be as surprised as a neighbor is by the first day of school. Those who have been watching will already have their coat on.

Today’s Prayer: Lord, keep me watching for the signs of Your return the way I watch for the ordinary signs of every changing season. Let me be found ready and paying attention, not distracted or asleep. Amen.

Reflection Question: Are you actually paying attention to the signs Scripture has told us to watch for?