1 Peter 4:7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.
2 Peter 3:10-11 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live,
Wow! A crazy chaotic year has ended, and with the New Year, we cling to hope and faith in a Christ filled future. I think I’ve said it more times this past year than any previous year, “I’m ready for Jesus to return!” My question for you today is, “are you ready for a visit with the King?” A few years ago, an elderly patient told me that she was ready for Jesus to come back. She said that she always made sure that her home was clean and tidy because when He returns, she wanted to ask Him to come in and have dinner with her. Can you even imagine it? Can you imagine supping with the King of king, Lord of lords?
Personally, I try to keep a fairly tidy home, but I’ll admit, when company is coming, we do a little more intense cleaning to prepare our home. I want everything to be perfect. I want our guests to know that they are important to me, and I want my home to declare this. If I were to plan a big dinner party, but failed to clean the house first, how would my guests feel? If the dirt of a day’s trudging in and out of the dogs after romping around our eighty acre farm remained on the floor, dirty dishes remained in the sink, or just day to day clutter was lying around, how would my dinner guests feel? They would look around and think that I had not prepared for their arrival. Perhaps they would think that I had busied myself with the meal, but I had not taken the time to prepare the home for their visit. They might think that I had invited them over, but really hadn’t expected them to come. It would appear that I had taken the time to arrange a visit, but I hadn’t taken the time to prepare for the visit.
I think that maybe this is how some of us are walking in our faith walk. Many of us say that we have accepted Christ. We have the “membership card” tucked safely in our wallets. It is like a “get out of hell free card” that we hold on to. But, we aren’t really walking with Christ. We may have said that we invited Him into our hearts, but that was the end of that. Sometimes people make a head decision, but there is no heart decision. You have to have both, y’all! You can’t just make a mental decision to follow Christ without allowing Him in to be the ruler of your heart.
Our hearts have to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but we don’t have to spend years cleaning our hearts and lives up before we invite Christ into our hearts. No! If we wait until we feel we are deserving enough, the time will never come. So how then do we prepare for a visit from the King? Unlike the preparations for a dinner party in our home, Christ is the one that has extended the invitation to us. He has extended an open invitation for salvation and a relationship. We only have to accept that invitation, and allow Him to be the Lord of our hearts. When we accept Christ as our Savior and have made both a head and heart decision to follow Him, He helps us clean up those things that were keeping us from a relationship with Him. Oh yes, my friends, He not only shows us the things that are dirty and that need to be cleansed, He helps us clean those things up! I have a dear old friend that will come over before a party and help me prepare. She helps me get everything tidied up, and she helps me prepare the food and set the table for our guests. Christ is an even better friend! He provides everything we need to have our table set and prepared for His glorious return! He gives us His Spirit to guide us and show us the way. He gives us His Word which helps to lead us and encourage us as we walk daily with Him. He gives us grace, mercy, and oh so much love!
I don’t think I will ever feel that my home is totally prepared for the return of Christ. I fear that I will be like Martha, rushing around to make sure everything is perfect for the arrival of the King, when I know what Christ would rather me do is be like Mary and sit down and soak up the glory of His presence! We do not know when that great day will come, but one thing that I do know without a shadow of a doubt is this. When Christ finally returns, my heart will ready, and until that day, I will continue to strive daily to work on the things that separate me from Him. I am so ready for a visit from the King! Are you?
Inspirations from the Funny Farm 