Are you ready to have guests stop by today? Keeping a house clean and in order takes work and regular vigilance, if not by you, then by someone living there. When you were younger, maybe keeping things in order was not a high priority. As we get married and households grow, so does the speed with which it can turn into a mess. Sometimes we end up cleaning up one another’s messes to get the job done. If it is our mess, we may feel a bit guilty, and if it is not our mess, we may feel a bit resentful, but the goal is to put things back in order. We may never fully have everything perfect, but to an acceptable level where everyone can function, or at least have clean dishes to eat from.
For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man. 2 Corinthians 8:21
Living a life for God takes work, it doesn’t just happen naturally. Our natural disposition is to do what feels best for me, to live for myself. When we ignore God, and the message of his Word, this is where we most often end up, worshiping the sensual and the created instead of the creator. If we are living a life to impress others around us and not for God, we will have the appearance of a good Christian, but still be empty on the inside if we have not given our all to God. Sometimes we rely on the help of others to get us through a difficult stretch, sometimes we can’t do it and God shows us our limitations to humble us and bring us back to him. Keeping our spiritual ‘house’ in order takes as much or more vigilance as does the house that hides all our stuff.
So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matthew 24:44
If we knew the Lord was returning a week from today, a lot of people would make a lot of changes in a short amount of time. The same would happen if we knew our lives would be ending soon. When we know guests are coming over, a sense of urgency takes hold of us to get our houses in order. We are not often given a timeline of when to prepare for the end of things, but we can live as if we did. If I am regularly demonstrating patience, forgiveness, and love toward my fellow man, then I should be ready to meet my maker on any given day. Let us strive to live in expectancy of the coming of our Lord, and if we are not ready to receive him, let us prepare our houses and our hearts to do so.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8
Strength and Courage in Christ,
Clark
