Being Ready

If there is an attitude followers of Christ are expected to have in the Bible it is that of anticipation for the return of Jesus, our Groom. We are exhorted to be ready, to prepare for his return and to get our things in order. However, the longer his return, the lesser our preparation and anticipation becomes. This week, the topic of “being ready” and “preparing” came up frequently in my time in the word and I wondered about the reasons we are not often prepared for things we want and pray for. One of the reasons I found is that we assume we do need to prepare or be ready for whatever it is we are looking forward to. Another reason is that we assume there will be enough grace for us to make it on that last day and a third reason is that we are distracted and seldom believe the promise is still happening. Whatever the reason, it is evident that we need the help of the LORD to be ready for the return of Christ or the accomplishment of the promises He has made in His word. In today’s post, I would like to draw our hearts back to God’s commands on the return of His son and on the fact that His promises are true and come to pass. Our lack of understanding does not change what He has said, therefore, if He tells us that the return of the LORD will be on a day when no one suspects (1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10), we must believe Him and get ready for it. How do we get ready? My hope is to give you some pointers as you keep reading.

Before we get into the practical, let me elaborate a bit more on the reasons why we do not get ready for the LORD. As Christians, we often think that our salvation is a license for sin and laziness. Of course, we would never admit that but our attitudes reveal the state of our hearts. One of the ways this is true is in our understanding of the return of Christ. Many of us believe that when Christ returns, we will be dead already so he will simply be taking us from our “sleep” and bringing us into the Father’s presence where we will live eternally. In that sense, there is nothing to prepare for. Others believe that our standing with Christ through his blood is sufficient for everything as it pertains to getting into heaven and that Jesus’ blood prepares a clean Bride for the day of the Lord. Because of the complete work of Christ, we only have to enjoy the benefits of life as a follower of Christ. However, what many do not read is that there is a condition to the finished work of Christ on the cross, as Paul tells us in his letter to the church of Colossae: “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation– if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel” (Colossians 1:22-23, italics mine). There is a clear condition, you have to continue in your faith, being firm and not moved. Other translations use the words “stable and steadfast” to denote that anchor attitude in what Christ has done. It would be too easy and irresponsible even to think that because Christ has done everything for you and getting you to heaven you don’t have to do anything. Indeed, there is nothing you can do to save yourself or to make it to heaven aside from Christ, he has done everything, your job is simply to believe in him.

But, when the Bible exhorts us to continue in our faith, or to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12) it is telling us to live the life that Christ has set us free for. We are not living that life of freedom because we want to get to heaven, or because we want to be accepted before God, no, we are living that life because we are already accepted into the presence of God, it is out of our newer identity as sons and daughters of the Living God that we are now living. We adopt the ways and customs of the new identity we have in Christ. As the Bride of Christ that is being made holy and blameless by Christ (Ephesians 5:26-27), our goal is to walk in that newness of life, that purity Christ has set for us. I often think of the story of Hosea who marries Gomer, the prostitute according to the word of God and when he marries her, he is told to love her despite her faults. In the same way, God has pursued us like that, sent His son to die on the cross in order to redeem us from our unrighteousness and cleanse us from our filth as he rose again from the dead. This cleansing came with new garments– “fine linen, bright and pure” and a status of Bride (Revelation 19:7-8). We were like Gomer a prostitute, but Jesus cleansed us and made us his Bride. And today, he continues to make us clean and perfect us for his return so that we can be fully his. In the meantime, he expects us to walk in that new identity; the identity of the Bride, the identity of the chosen race, the royal priesthood, the holy nation, the identity of a people for his own possession (1 Peter 2:9). This new way of life is only for those that are His, those that actually believe he has set them free. God’s grace is not for those that are perishing because those that are perishing do not want His grace. Jesus is particular about his Bride and how he wants her to look and be ready for Him which means how we walk on this earth matters to Jesus, it matters to God. We cannot claim to belong to Him and live life however we like. That would be stupidity and foolishness at best. The God of the Bible is very clear, true and unambiguous. There is no duplicity in Him and so He will only be with those whose hearts are devoted to Him. 

Therefore, if you are in Christ, know that there are no other ways to live than in the consciousness of his return. Christ has made a way for you to escape the judgement of the last days, and he has made a way for you to flourish as you wait for his return and that is by remaining in him (John 15:4), by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within you and by abiding in his word. To be ready then is to be obedient to his word, it is to be listening to his voice alone and not the plethora of voices out there including yours, it is to be nourished by him and not by the world or your fleshly desires. To be ready, is to await his return by honouring him in your day to day, by striving to please him, it is to lean on him and not on your own understanding. Now more than ever, it is easy to live our lives as if the LORD’s return is not near or never going to be happening but the more the pleasures of the world seem alluring, the more we need to cling to the LORD and grow our affections for Him. I pray the LORD grants us the grace to grow in our love for Him and to set our eyes on things above (Colossians 3:1-2) so that we will remain expectant and eager for His return. Amen.