ARE YOU READY?

Ateacher told his class that he would be going away for a few weeks. They’d have a few different supply teachers while he was away—and so he promised to give a prize to the student whose desk was the tidiest when he came back. But he didn’t actually tell them which day he’d be back at school.

Each kid in the class was excited about the prize. One girl said, “I plan to clean my desk every Monday from now on!”

“But,” someone said, “what if he comes back on a Friday?”

For a moment she was silent. Then she said, “I know what I’ll do. I’ll just keep it clean!”

Jesus has said a similar thing to us: “I am coming soon” (REVELATION 22:20). We might think “soon” is an odd way to describe what has become a 2,000 year wait! But we should understand this statement to be less about ‘speed’ and more about the certainty of Jesus’ return. In other words, Jesus’ second coming is not pending, but active—right now. He is coming!

So we are to “eagerly” wait for Him (PHILIPPIANS 3:20). Eagerly waiting for Jesus means that even today—an ordinary and maybe boring day—we can be excited about meeting Jesus face to face. Is that what defines your days? Is that what you are looking forward to? Because if you’re excited about Jesus’ return, it’ll show in how you live. “You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God” (2 PETER 3:11-12). That’s something of what it means to “be ready” (MATTHEW 24:44).