Good morning! First, I have to say a big Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife! She is the best thing that has ever happened to me and continues to support and encourage me to continue growing in my relationship with God! She knows that as I grow deeper in relationship with Him, He makes me a better husband by shaping my life to be more like Jesus!
One of my favorite memories as a child, and one I have learned to appreciate more as I get older, was going over to my grandparents house on a hot summer day to swim in their inground pool! We had a pool at our house, but there was nothing like going to grandma and grandpa’s house!
Our pool was a 24ft round, above ground pool that didn’t have a diving board or a deep end, and for some reason I remember it always being cold, cloudy, or green LOL! Just kidding Mom and Dad… or am I? The truth is… the one thing it didn’t have was grandma (and as my son called her – grandma great!)
She was always ready for us! Sometimes I think that she was sitting at home in the summer waiting for us to call and tell her we were coming, because she never told us no. We would get packed in the van like a bunch of sardines and make our way over to their house. When we got there, grandpa was either mowing the lawn or watching a baseball game on tv; and grandma, she came out as soon as we got there to say hi and swim with us!
There are times when we brought food over for lunch, but most of the time we didn’t have to because grandma ALWAYS had burgers and her/our favorite Sour Cream and Onion chips in the shiny green bag! Every time I see those chips in the store or bring them home to the house, I always think about grandma great!
She has now changed her address to Heaven and I have the feeling she is still anxiously waiting for us to get there! But the real point I am trying to make is that she was always ready for us! It was never like we caught her by surprise, or that she didn’t want us to be there – she loved spending time with us and made us feel like she never wanted us to leave!
Before Jesus left the earth, He spent time in the upper room with His disciples eating the Passover meal. While in conversation with them, He encouraged them with the following:
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
John 14:3
Jesus had already told them about His death, but now He began to tell them about His ascension into Heaven that would occur after His resurrection. Basically He is telling them that He will be going away for a time, but will be coming back to get them so that they could be with Him forever!
We are currently living in a time when we are waiting for His return! Just like grandma great was always ready for us to show up at her house, we need to be ready for Jesus to return! And not just ready, but waiting and living with anticipation! So what does this look like? How do we live in the state of readiness?
“And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.”
1 John 2:28
This verse in 1 John simplifies what it means, to make it attainable. The way to be ready for Jesus’s return is to – CONTINUE IN HIM!
The word the apostle John uses for “continue,” is the same word used in John 15 when it talks about the vine and the branches – “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” As we choose to remain in Jesus, our lives are constantly yielded to Him. He continues to be the source of everything we need and everything we do! It is only through this continued persistence to stay close to Jesus that we will be ready for His return.
And through remaining in Him, we will be able to live confidently in what He has done and unashamed of what we have done because His sacrifice covers it all!
I have the burgers and green shiny bag of chips ready for when Jesus returns! I do not want to be unprepared or caught off guard. I cannot wait to see Him in all His glory and meet Him face to face! What a privilege we have to spend eternity with the One True God!
Heavenly Father, thank You for the people who have made an impression on our lives and encourage us to get to know You more! I am so thankful for how You show up through the lives of others and how seeing a relationship with You lived out, inspires and challenges us to grow. Help us to REMAIN IN YOU to be ready for Your return! In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 