This summer I have performed two weddings, and a constant theme that ran through both for preparation was time. The closer the date became the more the couple, especially the brides, realized they had so much to do and little time to get it done.
In the end both weddings went off without too much of a hitch and they were both very beautiful ceremonies and receptions. However, the rush of those last few days was somewhat stressful for both families.
There are many other events that can be rushed the closer we get to them, such as graduation parties, anniversary parties and family reunions. All these events take a lot of planning and time to become that “perfect event”. Certainly we want these special days in our lives to be memorable for everyone involved. We want it to be a day we will never forget. But, there is a very special day coming that sometimes can elude our thoughts. It is the day we will meet our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So, knowing the great importance of this coming day, why is it not talked about that much?
Well for one we often look at that day as being far into the future. It is hard to stay at the ready all the time. For example in this country, we are all familiar with the terror threat level system. For as long as we can remember the level has been for the most part elevated. However, how many people actually take a moment to consider what “elevated” means?
Look at how we react when someone is caught planning an attack. For the most part it is in the news for a day or two. There doesn’t seem to be much reaction from people in general. However if an event were to occur, then people suddenly find themselves on high alert again for a little while.
How many of our elder members can remember their reactions in the days following Pearl Harbor? Were you on alert? Did you think the Japanese were going to invade California? However by the beginning of 1942, life here was most likely pretty much returning to the way it had been just before the fateful Sunday morning in December.
This is only one kind of a state readiness. Our minds and bodies were not designed to stay at this kind of level for long. So God designed us to settle down as it were. This is also not the kind of readiness and alertness that Jesus is talking about in Luke.
The kind of readiness He is talking about is a sense of preparedness on the way we are leading our lives. Jesus is warning all who hear Him that we cannot put off living our lives in a righteous way. The reason is we do not know what life may have in store for us. We don’t know whether we will be alive the next day so as to correct for those things we have not been righteous in or to say we are sorry for.
In fact have you ever considered how much our lives are like keeping a house clean? In fact, that very phrase about keeping your house in order is actually aimed at our lives in general.
Have you ever spent a great deal of time cleaning when you knew you were going to have special guests coming? We spend all day, scrubbing, shampooing the carpet, dusting, and vacuuming just to get the whole place clean. All the while we are grumbling about how if we could just keep it fairly reasonable it wouldn’t be such a chore to clean every time. At least this was the way it was when I was single and I had an apartment to clean.
Well God has provided us with that great cleaning in the redemptive salvation through Jesus Christ. You see if were to look back on all the things we have done in our lives, or all the unkind things we may have said to someone, you may want to tell that person your sorry, but physically it may not be possible due to death, geography, or countless other ways. However, God says “give it to me and I will forgive you”. He will clean your house, and he will show you how to keep it clean and maintained, so that when he does come for you, it will be all ready for Him.
This all relies though on our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the writer of Hebrews tells us;
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.(Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV)
We have to have faith that Jesus not only died and was resurrected, we also need to have the hope that He is returning for us. The groomsmen in the parable understood this kind of faith. They had faith in the return of their master. They wanted to be awake for him so that He knew they were watching over his household properly.
Imagine what could have happened if they did not have that faith in their master. What kind of things might have happened to that house? It could have been robbed, or burned down. The master himself could have been murdered by the intruders. However because of their faith in his return their master came home to a good house.
This is not to say that we need to be getting rid of all our earthly possessions and go into a cave some where and await the Second Coming of Christ. True, His return is always imminent; however He does not want us to go without. He wants us to continue to preach the Gospel to all the World, so that every person will know the love they can find in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
It is because we know that one day we will be with Christ that we need to be vigilant in our central ministry, the spreading of the Good News. The fact that He will return one day for us is the very cornerstone that our hope stands on. For it is when we will join the Master in the safety of His home that all He promises us will be fulfilled.
So are you ready for Jesus Christ’s return? Are sure within your heart that He will return for you. Do you have faith that one day He will reach out to you with open arms and say “well done thy good and faithful servant, enter into my kingdom and receive your eternal reward”.
Will you be one of the ones who praise Him and thank Him for all that He has done for you, and for all the lost? Will you be able to before Him in confidence knowing that all your sins have been washed away? Knowing that he has made your house to be in order, so to welcome Him inside your heart?
We would like Him to find us with our work completed. Life for so many of us is filled with loose ends. There are things undone and things half done; things put off and things not even attempted.
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote,
"The morning drum-call on my eager ear
Thrills unforgotten yet; the morning dew
Lies yet undried along my field of noon.
But now I pause at whiles in what I do,
And count the bell, and tremble lest I hear
(My work untrimmed) the sunset gun too soon."
Jesus himself said,
I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. (John 17:4 NIV)
In fact, we would like God to find us at peace with each other. It would be a horrible thing to have this resting on your mind to pass from this world at bitterness with another. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:26-27; In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:26-27 NIV)
William Barclay said; We should like God to find us at peace with himself. It will make all the difference at the last whether we feel that we are going out to a stranger or an enemy, or going to fall asleep in the arms of God.
That is a beautiful image to know that when we fall asleep for that final time, it will be into the arms of our Loving God. It is with this confidence that many missionaries and martyrs gave up their lives for Christ. They knew that whatever the physical world threw at them, God would be there for them in the end.
So are you ready for the day when you come face to face with Jesus? Are you ready to approach the throne?
My challenge for us all, is to use every opportunity we can to share the and live the Gospel through Word and Deed. While we know we can never make up for all the things we have not done right in our lives. But, we can take this time to make a new starting point. We can take this time to let God clean our house and teach us to maintain it.
Remember, we will never reach perfection as long as we live upon this earth. We will only achieve perfection when our Savior returns to us and takes us to Heaven to live with him throughout eternity. It is then that He will complete us and will perfect us by His grace. So, while it may be impossible to strive for perfection, we can strive to live each day, each hour, each
moment in accordance with the will of God. So that if this moment is the last for any of us, He will find us having done our best to serve Him.
Unlike many special days we plan for in our lives, the day we meet our Savior is not one we can mark on a calendar. So, always keep your house tidy and neat. Always be prepared every day to accept him.
Go in peace this week and make disciples of others. Amen.
