This post will address the things you should be considering and doing in preparation for Jesus’s imminent return.
It has been about two thousand years since He was here. There are many troubles in the world which seem to be escalating at a more intense pace. Seems rather likely that these events are like labor pains… you know – they start out mild at first. If they are real pains, they don’t diminish in frequency or intensity, rather they increase. He said that when it was close to the time of His return, that it would be similar to a woman in labor:
“But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” Matthew 24:8
Without getting into a debate about eschatology (the study of the end times), I want to address a practical issue in this post- what should we as Christians be doing, minimally, to be ready for His return?
When I say ‘minimally’, I say that to address the possibility that the Christians won’t go through the tribulation. If we won’t go through the tribulation, the next thing that we will be doing is meeting Jesus Christ in the clouds.
If at all possible, I want to be ready for that meeting, especially before I start stockpiling cans of beans and all of the other survival tactics that are being sold out there 🙂
The following is a list of things you want to make sure that you are doing or have done in preparation for His return:
- Do your work as unto God, not as man pleasers – God is your ultimate audience and Christ is your judge. You need to do your work as if He was standing there watching you. The reality of the situation is that He actually is. You need to get especially ‘lazy’ and neglect doing things that don’t bring value to your employer. Give your employer an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. If you haven’t been doing this kind of work, you need to repent – change and do the right thing.
- Love your wife as Christ Loves the Church – The reason Christ is coming back is to get His church (John 14:3). His church is His bride. Do you want your meeting Christ to be a joyful occasion (like a honeymoon), or a dreadful occasion? Well, love your wife the way that you want Christ to show favor to you when He returns.
- Turn Your heart toward those of your children – Love your children. Care about the things that they are thinking, feeling, experiencing. Disciple them and train them toward righteousness and Godliness by your example first, but not neglecting your words.
- Read the Bible, pray, memorize scripture – These are ways that you can be growing in your knowledge and understanding, so that you will be wise.
- Fellowship with other believers – The church is a helper in your sanctification. Don’t neglect to be with other Christians.
- Evangelize the Lost – You need to be faithful to God and share the most excellent thing that God has done for you – namely, He has forgiven your wretched soul from the penalty that you deserve… an eternity forever of burning in the lake of fire. You should be willing to extend that same love and concern for your neighbors as God facilitates opportunity and as you actively seek opportunity.
- Walk by the Spirit – When God saved you, He gave you all of the Holy Spirit you need in order to live a life that is pleasing to Him. Without getting into any funkiness, you need to be turning from sinfulness and things that easily trip you up, and turn toward righteousness… this done not in a way thinking that this will justify you (it won’t), but remembering that because He saved you and granted precious promises to you, it is the least that you should do. If you actually love Jesus, it will look like obedience to His commands.
- Delight in the Lord – It’s about to get really bad for many people. You could be a part of the ‘badness’ that is coming on the world leading up to the hours of his return. Regardless, you should be finding all of your joy, peace, happiness and contentment in Him, His will, His words, His work and His ways, doing all that you do with Love in your heart toward Him that shows itself in working for others to help them.
So, there you have it- these are the ways that I think it would be extremely helpful for you to be practicing and walking in should His return be sooner rather than later. By the way, these things are good if He return later as well. 🙂