Are you ready?
As the moving saga continues, we are heading into our third week of waiting for our household goods to arrive. My first note is a gigantic “THANK YOU” to everyone willing to give us enough items so that my wife and kids could join us. This was a tremendous blessing and really took a lot of the pressure off of us. Being together is best for everyone, so thank you again to everyone who made it happen. Secondly, we are thankful for everyone’s thoughts and prayers;. However, we wish circumstances were different; we really have all that we need and are content. Amanda remarked that we almost don’t need our stuff anymore; we have all we need right now.
When thinking of the God-centered life, for a person trying to live as God desires, asking the right question helps give us the best starting point. Most Christians are okay with the basic questions such as, who, how, and why.
Who– God- He is the creator of all things (1 Peter 1:20)
How– He is God, and therefore His ways are about our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Why– Because He loves us enough to send His Son for our sake (John 3:16)
I think our most significant inquiries come when we discuss the question of “When.” We all want to follow God, and we know why we should follow Him. We want to know: how long the commitment will be if there is a way to speed it up or shorten the duration? As we travel throughout the Old Testament, this element of patience and waiting is consistently portrayed. Noah builds an ark for 100 years, wandering in the desert for 40 years, 70 years of exile… following God requires patience. When Isaiah is commissioned, he asks the Lord how long he will be proclaiming his message (Isaiah 6:11). During Jesus’ time, people were looking for a sign to know “when” something would happen, either the coming of the Messiah or the end of time. It is human nature to know how long something will last; I see it in my oldest son; he continually asks when the next thing will happen- be it the next meal or going to the park. We want to know the “when” of it all.
This is where the teachings of Jesus are revolutionary. Jesus doesn’t focus on the various questions; he simply states, be ready. “For this reason, you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.” (Matthew 24:44) This statement changes everything. It takes the responsibility of waiting and wondering when something will happen and places the ownership on the individual to ensure that they are ready. This transforms the way we think; instead of sitting back and doing nothing, it begs the question, “Is there something I can be doing in the meantime?” And so, I ask you all the same question, “Is there something you can be doing to be ready?”