Ready or Not?

"For you know quite well that the day of the Lord's return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night." I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

 
Our three-year-old granddaughter is now "all in" when it comes to playing Hide-N-Seek. It's quite entertaining. She'll hide in the same place as we did the time before or keep hiding in the same spot over and over again like it's the first time. It gets even better when the dogs want to play too. They apparently don't understand the rules to wait till you count to ten to start looking. My granddaughter tries very passionately to explain that to them. Her counting is another variable. It's 1, 2 and then she starts moving towards you all the way to 10. "Ready or not, here I come!" 
 
The church in Thessalonica, not unlike all of us, was being troubled by their questions. They were watching friends and family die and were wondering what happened to them. They were concerned that they were going to miss out on Jesus' return! Yikes! Paul reassured them telling them their loved ones who had died were not only not going to miss out, but they would actually get picked up by Jesus first! That being said, he then told them Jesus' arrival will come unexpectedly. Suddenly. His counsel was straightforward and clear. Be ready.
 
Jesus told the disciples that only the Father knows the time of his return. He told parables encouraging the exact same thing that Paul said. Be prepared. Be alert. Set your heart and mind on things above. John tells us to live in such a way that we will not shrink back at his return, but rather we will have confidence and joy when he comes. The emphasis on Jesus' return is not so much the when, but more the condition of our heart when he does. Do we know him? Are we living in pursuit of him? Are we living in obedience? He's coming back. Ready or Not? 

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