DAILY DEVOTION, August 18, 2021

Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect (Matthew 24:44).

We are involved in a study of the return of Jesus in our Wednesday Bible Study. I remember one friend in my childhood cautioning me not to go to the movie theater because Jesus might come while I was watching a movie. He seemed to think that would be awful, but I continued going to the movies!  Our verse tells us to be ready at all times because Jesus will come at an unexpected hour. When you read books suggesting that His coming is just around the corner, we know it is so much baloney! I don’t think “be ready” means we avoid all earthly pleasures. I think it means that we are always seeking to be faithful to Jesus whatever we are doing. The point is not what you are doing the moment He returns. Instead, what are you doing with the totality of your life?

I read a story in another devotional appropriate to this issue. It pertained to a Christian woman who some children ridiculed about her faith. They said, “Do you really believe Jesus is coming again?” She replied, “absolutely!” They said, “You better hurry home and get ready because He might come today.” She replied, “I don’t have to get ready. I keep ready.” If His coming is at an unexpected hour, we need to be ready daily. Am  I ready? Are you ready?

Father, please help me to live each day anticipating the return of Jesus. I don’t want to waste my life on trivia. I want to live each day as a faithful disciple. In His name, I pray, Amen