Christ’s return is a popular subject; people want to know when it will happen. However, it’s more important for know how to be ready for Christ’s return!
Scripture:
2 Samuel, chapters 13-14; Matthew, chapter 24
Matthew 24:42-51 (NASB):
“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you must be ready as well; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household slaves, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds doing so when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and he eats and drinks with those habitually drunk; then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and he will cut him in two and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Observations: Be Ready for Christ’s Return
Don’t Worry About When; Just Be Ready for Christ’s Return
Matthew chapter 24 is part of Jesus’ response to His disciples’ question, “When will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3). The first part of chapter 24 is familiar to many Christians: wars and rumors of wars, nation will rise against nation, etc. Jesus’ statement that “the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world…and then the end will come” has long served as motivation for world evangelism. Jesus continues to talk about markers pointing to His return. He then uses the parable of the fig tree to suggest that his disciples will know when they “see all these things” (verse 33).
The passage quoted above, verses 42-51, are titled “Be Ready for His Coming” in the NASB. Almost anyone reading this passage would want to know how we are to be ready for His coming. Thankfully, Jesus gives us some direction. First, He says, “Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming” (verse 42, emphasis added). Because we don’t know exactly when He will return, we need to always be ready.
Be Ready for Christ’s Return By Doing His Will
Jesus’ next bit of advice comes in verse 46: Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. In other words, the way to be ready for Jesus’ return is to do what He tells us to do. Jesus makes such obedience a common theme in His teaching:
- “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:21).
- “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).
- “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
Being ready for Jesus’ return is not about trying to figure out when it will happen. Instead, we make sure that we’re ready by doing the work that He left us to do. As Jesus said at another time, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you” (Matthew 6:33). As I like to paraphrase that, when we put God first, everything else in our lives falls into its proper place.
Application: Be Ready for Christ’s Return
So what kinds of things does Christ call us to do? What does it mean to seek God’s kingdom first? To put it simply, we focus each day on doing what God sets before us. It’s not our place to make God’s plans for us; God has already done that. We need to focus on understanding God’s will and doing it! Of course, God has given us a great deal of information in Scripture. Jesus also promised that the Holy Spirit would lead us in the truth and remind us of what He already taught us (John 14:26, 16:13). So the first step to doing God’s will is to know it; the first step in knowing God’s will is to read Scripture. The Spirit helps us to understand what God is calling us to do, and empowers us to do it.
That’s the next step – to do what God tells us to do. How often do we read God’s Word and start to think of reasons why that doesn’t apply to us? We need to be careful; Satan seeks to do with us what he did with Adam and Eve. “God didn’t really say that, did He? Surely He didn’t mean that you have to do that?” Any time that we respond to Scripture or God’s call with “Yes, but…” we’re on thin ice.
There are certain things that we know God wants us to do. For example, bear witness to what God has done in our lives. Love one another, and love our enemies. Do for others as we would have them do for us. In short, be like Jesus – and seek each day to do it more and more. That’s the way to be ready for His return!
Prayer:
Father, thank You for reminding us of the call to be like Jesus. We can complicate things so much. We can also get distracted by trying to figure out the timetable for His return instead of simply being ready. Help us each day to listen to You and do what You call us to do. When we do that, we can know that we are ready for each da
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