Several times in His ministry, Jesus told His disciples to be ready for the end so as not to miss the coming of the glory of God. Hundreds of years later, that message still applies. And we, are we ready?
Our daily life can easily make us forget that the return of Jesus could happen at any moment. “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (…) Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 17:26-27, 30 NKJV). There is nothing wrong with eating, drinking, and getting married, but our “earthly” activities should not distract us from God’s plan.
That is a question we sometimes hear in our Christian meetings: “What if Jesus came back today, would you be ready for Him?” If the trumpet sounded today, would we be ready to go up with Him? Do we cultivate habits that glorify God, or have we let our flame fade out? If today was the end, would God find us working at His work, or wallowing in worldly pleasures?
It is good to stop and reflect on eternity. Are we ready? Because the end can also be personal. Perhaps the trumpet will not sound for everyone on Earth today, but for us alone. That is another question we hear in our Christian meetings. “If you died today, would you have to blush or rejoice at what you have to present to God?” We should not live in fear of dying, but it is indeed good to reflect on our eternity whenever we make decisions or whenever we complain about the standards we have to keep as Singles.
The purpose of this questioning is not to make us feel miserable and inadequate. We can always do better in our walk with God. But it is good to stop and reflect on this question and readjust what is no longer right in our life.
To be ready for the return of Jesus is also to be ready to receive new revelations from Him. We can pray for a miracle for years and miss God’s answer simply because we are too preoccupied with daily needs. This is what happened to the Jews, who failed to notice that Jesus was their Messiah. How many times had the Holy Spirit planned to give us an answer to our problem during Sunday morning teaching, and we didn’t show up to hear it? Or our answer was in a verse, and we read the whole chapter without paying attention, without even remembering what we had just read! Our thoughts were elsewhere. Are we ready for the return of Jesus in our lives, for His glorious intervention today?