Being Ready for Jesus to Come
The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation [conduct] and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt away with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 2 Peter 3:10-14.
What kind of person should I be in the face of the unprecedented events coming upon the earth? Jesus tried to tell us the answer to that question when He ministered on earth for those three years. We find it in the Sermon on the Mount in His call for His followers to be humble, meek, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and individuals who hunger and thirst after righteousness more than anything else in their lives (Matt. 5:3-9).
Another part of His answer appears in His response to the lawyer about the greatest commandment of all. I still need to hear His words more fully and apply them to my life: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets" (Matt. 22:37-40, RSV), including the Ten Commandments, which are extensions and applications of the two great commandments (Rom. 13:8-10; Gal. 5:14).
And yet another aspect of how to be ready occurs in the parable of the sheep and the goats, in which we discover that the last judgment centers upon our acts of mercy and justice to those who need help the most in this life. The caring, giving life of the servant is the life that Jesus modeled in His earthly existence. And it is those characteristics He will be looking for in those He takes to heaven with Him.
We are, to be sure, saved by His grace. But that same grace transforms His followers and step-by-step forms them into His likeness. What kind of people do we need to be like on "that day"? The short answer is that we need to be like Him.
Father in heaven, I look forward to the coming of Jesus. Help me, Father, to let You change me from the inside out so that I might be ready to stand on "that day."
The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation [conduct] and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt away with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 2 Peter 3:10-14.
What kind of person should I be in the face of the unprecedented events coming upon the earth? Jesus tried to tell us the answer to that question when He ministered on earth for those three years. We find it in the Sermon on the Mount in His call for His followers to be humble, meek, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and individuals who hunger and thirst after righteousness more than anything else in their lives (Matt. 5:3-9).
Another part of His answer appears in His response to the lawyer about the greatest commandment of all. I still need to hear His words more fully and apply them to my life: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets" (Matt. 22:37-40, RSV), including the Ten Commandments, which are extensions and applications of the two great commandments (Rom. 13:8-10; Gal. 5:14).
And yet another aspect of how to be ready occurs in the parable of the sheep and the goats, in which we discover that the last judgment centers upon our acts of mercy and justice to those who need help the most in this life. The caring, giving life of the servant is the life that Jesus modeled in His earthly existence. And it is those characteristics He will be looking for in those He takes to heaven with Him.
We are, to be sure, saved by His grace. But that same grace transforms His followers and step-by-step forms them into His likeness. What kind of people do we need to be like on "that day"? The short answer is that we need to be like Him.
Father in heaven, I look forward to the coming of Jesus. Help me, Father, to let You change me from the inside out so that I might be ready to stand on "that day."
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