One Day Closer

Luke 12:37-38 "Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants."

These verses make me so excited! Jesus really is coming and He is coming soon. I cannot wait for that day, but one thing I would love to know: Will I be ready? Will He find me watching and working diligently, faithfully for Him? What exactly will I be doing when He does come?

When Jesus comes (if He comes while I live) I want Him to find me on the edge of my seat so to speak, ready to bounce out of this world into the next at any moment. I want to be enjoying the daylights out of Him, His Word, His glory, etc. Wouldn't it be nice (I think I am speaking mostly to girls with these examples. :-)) to meet Christ having been a faithful and submissive worker like Ruth, or a bold ambassador like Esther? Wouldn't it be wonderful to be found a faithful sutdent of God's Word like Mary? I think any of these would be wonderful, but I wonder how I will meet Him?

While I am still in bed because of this "character building" (lol) surgery, I have had time to think about what I should be doing when I actually can move. :-) Here is one of the verses I have been thinking about:

Jesus said in John 9:4 "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work."

These last few months have drug by so slowly I felt like time had literally stopped. Thankfully it didn't. :-) Even as slow as these last months have been... they are gone and they are not coming back. My time on this earth is very short. I got here just a few years ago and I'll be leaving soon too. The thought of this could send me into a panic attack, "SO-gasp-MUCH-gasp TO DO gasp!" However it doesn't, because I know that what I have done or will do has nothing to do with whether or not I am Christ's and He is mine. That being said what I am doing on earth is a prelude to what I will be doing in heaven. So I really cannot be waiting until then to get started. Now is the time to obey, now is the time to repent, now is the time to praise, now is the time to thank, now is the time to worship, etc, etc, you get the idea.

1 John 4:10 "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins."

Wow! That is great great love. And we only love Him because He first loved us. When you do something for someone you love, does it feel like a chore? NO. It really doesn't. It is a pleasure. It is delightful, fun, thrilling, and every other good word there I can't think of at this moment. So if obeying God is so easy and fun, why don't I do it? Well that is the difference between here and heaven. My redeemed spirit wars constantly against my flesh, and that is what makes this rough. But I don't have to be afraid because Christ overcame the world and He will provide a way of escape from temptation. He is very faithful. Now back to what I meant to talk about: What kind of things do I need to be doing to get ready for His coming? How can I trim my lamps, and tirelessly watch for Him?

I can be about what He has given me to do NOW. Broadly speaking this would be like, studying the Scriptures, encouraging my family, and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ (the Church), sharing the gospel, etc. Specifically it means that I have to stop wasting time. There are so many time wasting traps these days, that before I even realize it I am sucked these traps. But God has asked that I be READY when He comes, and that means putting away the distractions that have nothing to do with watching for Him. Guys, He is coming and coming soon!

"Be ye therefore ready also for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not." -Matthew 25:40