“Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” – Matthew 24:44
Ready is an important word for followers of Jesus. We’re called to constantly be ready. Ready for the ups and downs of life in a sinful and fallen world. Ready for war and persecution. Ready for life and death. Ready to give account for every word we’ve spoken and every action we’ve taken. Ready for our Lord and Savior to return at any moment.
That isn’t to say that Christ’s return is imminent. It’s simply that as His followers, we must always be ready for Him. We shouldn’t be putting things like obedience to God, growth in Christ, or sharing the Gospel off for ”when things are better”, “when we have more time”, “when the kids are grown”, or “when things aren’t so busy”. We must be busy doing our Lord’s business every day.
Being ready doesn’t mean we should be paralyzed by the prospect of Christ returning on a specific timeline. We shouldn’t live in a short-term mindset that ignores that fact that for God, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like an day.
Being ready means that we each know what God has called us to do and we’re doing it. Every day. Being ready means that we’re loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength every day, not just Sundays. Being ready means that we’re loving our neighbors as ourselves all the time, not just when it’s convenient and we like them. Being ready means we’re making disciples continually as we go, baptize, and teach.
We don’t know when our life will end or our Savior will return. Being ready at all times means that we don’t have to be concerned about those things. Be ready!