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Are You Ready for Jesus?

August 13, 2022

Are You Ready for Jesus?

Are You Ready for Jesus?

By Brooke Holt

“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.  You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Luke 12:35-40

Imagine you were invited to a glorious wedding celebration. Maybe it is for a celebrity, someone truly loved and respected. It is an honor to be included in their celebration, and you will certainly want to be ready in every way for the big day. Your calendar will be marked, plans made, clothes prepared, gift wrapped, and you will know what time you must leave to arrive in plenty of time.

Jesus often speaks of weddings and compares his second coming to the arrival of a bridegroom. He understands the significance of such a day as well as the glory, beauty, and joy associated with the wedding ceremony. In our passage for today, Jesus teaches about all those preparations and how important they are. A bride would not be sleeping on her wedding day but getting her hair done and making sure her bags are packed properly for the honeymoon.

Just as the bride, the groom, and everyone participating in their special day will be ready come time for the ceremony, so Jesus tells his disciples they are to be ready for his second coming. After he departs, it is not vacation time from building the kingdom of God. The disciples are to live actively – building the church, evangelizing their neighbors, being transformed, and renewed daily in the Holy Spirit. Just as a bride goes through a beauty regimen for her special day, so God’s people are to be in their own preparation process – the process of sanctification.

Sanctification is a big, theological term which means becoming more like Jesus. We learn to think like Jesus, to see through his eyes, to hear through his ears, to love what he loves, and to align our lives with his will. It is not an easy process as the Lord calls us to change; yet it is a glorious adventure in which we experience his power, healing, and wholeness which leads to our holiness. Sanctification prepares us to see him face to face and to fully enjoy that glorious celebration of his return.

Reflection:

It has been almost two thousand years since Jesus walked this earth as a man. Have you forgotten his promise to return? Are you making yourself ready for his return as a bride would make herself ready for her wedding day?

Related Resource:

The Spirit-Filled Life

Jesus calls the Holy Spirit a "gift" who will guide us, lead us, and empower us. Yet many believers don't experience the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This unique Christian small group Bible study provides a space in which we can explore what it truly means to "walk in the Spirit" on a daily basis. The Spirit-Filled Life small group curriculum centers on a 6-part video teaching series examining the life-giving and creative work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Begin to experience the gift today!




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