Are you ready?
by Pastor Mark Gierus
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So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him (Matthew 24:44).
This Christmas, are you expecting a visitor? Perhaps it is some of your family that visit every year. Maybe it is someone you haven’t seen for a while, especially with so much lost travel over the past few years due to COVID. How do you feel thinking about the upcoming visit? Are you excited about what you might do with your visitors or how you will spend your moments together? Does this fill you with joy, peace and gratitude? Are you ready for them, prepared for their arrival?
People get excited about an upcoming arrival of a friend or family member. There is a joy deep inside when you think of that time that will be spent, the rich conversations you will have and the moments of just being with each other. Better still is when you know you are ready for that visitor, having prepared all that needs to be prepared so the visit will be a blessing.
So are you ready for Jesus? For when he comes at an hour that we don’t expect? Are you excited about Jesus’ return, or is there a little work you still need to do to be ready for him?
The hardest thing when preparing for a visitor is that you seem to have to think of so much, especially if you have an eye for detail. Yet with Jesus, how can you be sure you have covered everything for his return? You don’t have to get new bedding or enough food for his return. You probably won’t have to worry about getting new clothes to greet him either. So, are you really, honestly, ready?
The most wonderful gift we have now is Jesus. He lives in us, and we live in him by his word. So, because we believe in him and live in him, we are ready for him no matter what time of day or year he comes. We are prepared and ready to receive the one who is coming, Jesus Christ. If we had to try to get ourselves ready and free ourselves from sin, death and the power of the devil, we would never be prepared for Jesus. If we had to earn grace and the love of God, quite honestly, we would never be ready either … there would always be something left to do. What great joy there is in knowing that, simply by believing, you are ready for your Lord Jesus to come again.
Dear Jesus, you have bought me with the blood you shed for my sins and won eternal life for me in your name. Thank you for making me ready to receive and welcome you when you return, for you live in me by faith. Give me eyes of faith to see you every day in your word and my life. Amen.
Pastor Mark Gierus is currently serving in Brisbane, Queensland, as a Lutheran college pastor. He has two beautiful girls aged six and nine and enjoys hiking with them, looking after their pets as a family and going on road trips. Mark prays that God will continue to bless you as you grow in him and come to know him more and more through his life-giving eternal word.
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