A Readiness for His Return

“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 NIV)

When Jesus left this earth and ascended into heaven, He promised that one day He would return for His people. In Scripture, there are signs that will point to His coming again, but we do not have a specific time and date for His arrival. For the planners amongst us, this can be challenging. Have you ever had a guest say that they were coming to visit, but not give you any idea of when they would knock at the door?

Maybe you read this verse in Matthew 24, and it puts you on edge or unsettles you. If you’re anything like me, I like to know the plan, but sometimes that’s not how it works.

If we can put aside our natural desire to know all the details, I believe this verse can be freeing and releasing for us as believers in Christ. For me, it is a challenge and an encouragement in two ways.

First, it causes us to shift our mindset from the temporal things of this earth onto the eternity that is ahead. 

When we live this life with the understanding that this is not our final destination, that heaven is waiting, and that Jesus could come back at any moment, we begin to live more freely and open-handedly. The Bible tells us that this earth will one day pass away, encouraging us to build with eternity in mind, with things that will not perish or fade. We may have the best house on the street, a beautiful car in the garage, or neither of those things, but in the end these things don’t truly matter. In fact, only He will remain. As a praise song from a few decades ago reminds us, “the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”

Second, it stirs us to live with a readiness to share the Gospel.

If you were told that you only had a week left to share the Gospel with those around you, would that change your approach to evangelism? The truth is, if we live in the reality of this Scripture, we live with an urgency to share the hope of Christ with the people we meet. If you had the cure to a disease, would you share it with immediacy and intentionality? We have the cure for human sinfulness within our hearts, so let’s stir up the Holy Spirit within us and, as it says in 1 Peter 3:15, live with a readiness to share the reason for the hope we have.

Jesus, thank You for the hope that lives inside of me. Thank You that You have promised eternity to us and that You are coming back, as a triumphant King, for Your people. God, help us to live in the light of eternity, holding lightly to the things of earth and help us to be ready and poised, like a runner on the blocks, to share Your hope with others. Amen.

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Scripture is quoted from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION^®, NIV^® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.^® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.