Matthew 24:42-44
So be on your guard! You don't know when your Lord will come. Homeowners never know when a thief is coming, and they are always on guard to keep one from breaking in. Always be ready! You don't know when the Son of Man will come.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Do you know what it feels like to be caught unprepared? More than once, I’ve gotten a call that required I drop everything and go somewhere for some emergency. More than once I was left wishing I had gotten up that morning and put on my makeup, done my hair and put on nice clothes. But there I was, a total mess… and the emergency had come at an hour I didn’t expect!
The message of this passage is as simple as “be prepared” – for whatever arises… tests, emergencies, that unexpected encounter with a friend or someone you wish to impress, crises and surprises of all kinds. But it is more about being prepared spiritually. There is no such thing as living for today and “getting right with God tomorrow.” We’ve lost enough teens and young children in our own community to know that nobody is immune from death – expected or otherwise. This is one gamble we cannot afford to take.
I have said before that often, we hesitate to change our lives and totally surrender to God out of some semblance of fear… of the unknown, that we will have to “give up” our fun, or that we will be ostracized by family and friends or those with whom we wish to associate. The truth is that whatever you believe you will give up, God will restore to you exponentially. We truly can’t even begin to count the blessings God wants to send our way.
So in one sense, we need to drop our guard… let go of whatever is holding us back from surrendering totally to God. In the other sense, we need to prepare now for His coming. We may already be resting in His arms in heaven when He makes the glorious return to earth for His church… or He could arrive in the next thirty minutes. Either way, it’s time to spiritually “put on your good clothes, wash your face, and comb your hair” and be ready! Jesus is coming at an hour we don’t expect! In what condition will He find you?
©2011 Debbie Robus
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