Be Ready

Q: "Are you ready?"

A: "I was born ready."

Really? I don't think so. This used to be my scripted response when the question was posed. In part a smart-aleck crack and in part an ignorant rant. It's really all about the question anyway. Am I ready for what...to go to the mall; ...to go to church; ...for work today; ...to take the final exam; …for the washer and dryer to go out; …for an unexpected illness; …for eternity?

We are never ready for the unexpected. We always like to know what's happening next. After all, we have plans to make…when to set the DVR, how much food to buy for the party, when to take an umbrella.

But really, there isn't much planning needed for eternity, because we don't know when it starts. Our pastor's message today dealt with Christ's return. If you weren't there, then you didn't hear when that will be (see, you should go to church). The important part was that it will happen and truth is, nobody knows when except God the Father. The Bible says Jesus will return like "a thief in the night." So what are you doing right now (reading this, obviously) - but seriously, are your actions those of someone who is expecting the return of Christ at any second? More times than not, I act as if His return is neatly written in ink on my calendar and that I will be able to clean up my messy life just in time to be ready about 15 minutes before it happens. But as the pastor pointed out, the Bible does not tell us to get ready, but to be ready. Oops. The good news is we're still here and the opportunity hasn't expired. No time like the present to turn around and walk in readiness. First step: repentance, second step: vigilance. "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." (1 Peter 1:13). Living a life displeasing to God may occur in a slow fade, but repentance only takes an instant. The second you look to God in desperation and say, "Help me!" is when He can clean you from the inside out. I'm not saying your life suddenly goes from pitiful to perfect, but the condition of your spirit does. Salvation is instantaneous…what follows is the long, painful process of working out our messed up lives (church word = sanctification) with our hope set "fully on the grace" of God and the reward of everlasting life with God that is ours in the end (church word = glorification). A marathon runner does not glory in each painful step as the miles add up. He certainly does not run with no end in sight. He has his mind set on the finish line and the accompanying glory and reward of running the race to completion. So goes it with the Christian life. So be ready, but not idle. Run toward the finish line…it may be another 26.2 miles, and it may be less than a step away.