SCRIPTURE:
““However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!”
Mark 13:32-33
OBSERVATION:
Jesus is answering a question that His disciples asked, that many people today would want to know, given the picture of what the world will look like when “The Son of Man” returns to execute judgment and justice to all present.
The question; “When will these things take place?” In other words, “When are You coming back, so I can be best prepared for it?”
Jesus had to preface His response by saying that there will be many who will claim to be Him—Jesus, God Almighty—returned and to execute judgment, but Jesus Himself called them on it. Fakes, frauds, and deceivers.
So how are we to know so we can be ready?
Jesus couldn’t put it more plainly; we here on earth can’t. We can’t!
Only the Father knows.
So to put it simply, be on guard and alert, ready at any time for an imminent departure.
APPLICATION:
So with that in mind, how shall we live?
I’ve always had an interest in living a well prepared lifestyle. A prepper, if you will.
Not a doomsday prepper who wears a gas mask and chemical suit, has an underground bunker with supplies for 100 years, and an arsenal of weapons that would discourage all enemies, foreign and domestic.
But I do have the basic necessities that will facilitate my departure from our home should things get crazy and we have to break contact with my home base. A “bug-out” bag with supplies and tools, ready to grab and depart on a moments notice.
Living prepared like this allows me the confidence to live free of the paranoia of impending doom, yet ready to leave if needed.
Such is what Jesus calls of His followers. To be prepared and not paranoid.
Ready in such a way that when the time comes, I have all the tools and resources packed away to simply say, “I’m ready to break contact with this world.”
It’s what one of our pastors once said, “Live Rapture ready.” Am I? I must examine my heart daily, be in the Word, repent often, and do my best to serve Him with a clear conscience.
That’s living rapture ready. That’s being alert and on guard.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, only the Father in heaven knows when You will return.
Instead of listening to well meaning people trying to guess the day of Your return, help me be rapture ready, so that when that day comes, I can let go of this worldly life and step into eternal union with You.
Amen!
