1 Thessalonians 5:1-8
I don’t think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when all this is going to happen. You know as well as I that the day of the Master’s coming can’t be posted on our calendars. He won’t call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would. About the time everybody’s walking around complacently, congratulating each other—“We’ve sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!”—suddenly everything will fall apart. It’s going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman.
But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
I still remember the afternoon that our doorbell rang, and there stood my grandmother and two of my dad’s cousins from Texas. They had come to visit… and their timing could not have been worse. That didn’t faze my grandmother – or the cousins. They marched right into the house and proceeded to stay for more than an hour. I laughingly told them that I was not “dressed to receive guests”… I was getting ready to work out, had on grubby clothes and no makeup. Greg was equally busy and not “cleaned up” for company, either. I had nothing prepared to offer them…a pitcher of iced tea or a soft drink. This didn’t seem to bother our guests… but it bothered us. We had been “taken off guard”!
I am sure you can name countless times that someone dropped in unexpectedly. And if you are like me, you’ve probably caught others unprepared to “receive guests” as well. Let’s be honest, if the worst that ever happens is that someone drops by to visit and catches you looking a little grubby or disheveled, this is certainly not the end of the world. But in the spiritual realm, the last thing we ever want is for Jesus to find us unprepared.
Look at it this way… if you are told that “the cable guy” is coming to your house “somewhere between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.”…you will sit at home and wait on him – right? You’ll get up early and dress and prepare for his arrival… and you will wait – sometimes all day long – in anticipation of his visit. Why would you prepare any less for Jesus’ return? The “cable guy” may fix your television reception… but Jesus is offering us Eternal Life! How could we ever fail to prepare for the day we meet Him face-to-face?
The bottom line is that those of us who truly believe in Jesus Christ…who have given our hearts to Him and promised to serve as His disciples…have no excuse for operating in anything less than “preparedness mode.” We have the hope of salvation and an eternity in Heaven on our side. Isn’t this worth guarding?
How ready are you to meet Jesus in person? Are you on guard…”dressed up”… awake… alert? Do you have faith, hope and confidence that you will meet Him someday? We cannot possibly know what hour or day that will happen. So the question is…”Are you ready to receive Him?”
©2013 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment