Preparing for the Day of the Lord

Preparing for the Day of the Lord is a simple thought reflection for Advent from 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 about how one can prepare for the Day of the Lord.

November 26, 2015 Year C

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Today is Thanksgiving. In our home, that means that we go to my parent’s home. We eat a full Thanksgiving meal. We sit around, play games, watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on NBC (followed by the National Dog Show) and talk about life. At some point, we come together to prepare the Christmas tree for Christmas.

Everyone might have their rituals on Thanksgiving, but everyone knows that Thanksgiving is the beginning of the Christmas season. You see it everyday when you watch television. Since I can remember, we have watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. At the end of the parade, Santa Claus shows up. This ushers in the official Christmas season in America.

In the same way, we are living in the time of the end of the church year. Today marks the beginning of the season of Advent, which starts the new church year (Year C in the Revised Common Lectionary). There will be four Sundays before Christmas and these Sundays are called the Sundays of Advent. Advent means “coming.” It is referring to the coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus came during the first Advent to save the world. We live now preparing for the second Advent of Christ. Paul describes this process of preparing in this passage. He calls the second Advent the Day of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:2). He challenges us to do five things as we prepare for the return of Jesus Christ. Just as we are preparing for Christmas, we can also prepare for the return of Jesus Christ.

FIVE WAYS TO PREPARE FOR THE DAY OF THE LORD

1. Wait (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2)

The first way to prepare is to wait. Paul says “about the times and the seasons,” that the people know to get ready. They are waiting for the return of Jesus Christ. They actively wait by living a life that tells others that Jesus is coming again. The signs are there. We won’t be surprised and we can wait for the return of Jesus because we are watching.

2. Watch (1 Thessalonians 5:3-7)

What are we watching? We are watching the predicted trends. (I wrote about these predicted trends elsewhere). Paul compares these trends to labor pains. When you watch a woman in labor, you know that the baby coming. When you watch the events going on in the world, you know that Jesus is returning soon. So we need to be aware that we are getting closer to Jesus’ return. We don’t sleep and find out in surprise that Jesus has come. We are actively awake. But we don’t just wait. We also work.

3. Work (1 Thessalonians 5:8)

But we are not lazy while we wait. Christians work while waiting for Jesus to return. We show love, faith, and the hope of salvation for those who need to know about Jesus Christ. Jesus told many parables that highlighted the rewards one would get when we served Him. He wants to later call us a “good and faithful servant.” That can only happen if we are working by serving.

4. Witness (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)

While we are waiting, watching, and working, we are also witnessing. Paul describes a brief summary of the Gospel in these verses. Paul wanted people to “obtain salvation.” That would only happen when we witness to other lost people. The church spends as much time as possible to let people know about Jesus Christ and their need for Him. While we are waiting, watching, working, witnessing, we are also worshipping.

5. Worship (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Worship when done properly, should encourage each Christian and build them up. Worship is when we focus on God. He strengthens us and then we can go back out to the world. Worship is a refreshing act for the Christian. As we are waiting, watching, working, and witnessing, we are worshipping together to help each other.

As we prepare for Christmas which celebrates the birth of Christ, let’s also prepare for the return of Christ.

Prayer: God, help me prepare for Jesus birth and His return. Thank you for another year.