Let’s pretend for a moment that your best friend just told you he was going to take you on an all-expenses-paid trip of your life and that he would pick you up as soon as all the arrangements had been made. The only catch is that you won’t know the day or the hour that he’ll come for you but if you aren’t ready when he comes, you’ll miss out on the trip. Would you be packed and ready to leave at a moment’s notice? You probably would, right?
Jesus told the disciples he would return at an hour we don’t expect (Matthew 24:44). He said we’re to be ready for him when he comes and that we will be blessed if we do so. In Matthew 24:1-13 Jesus tells the parable of the 10 virgins, which implores us to stay alert and watch for his return. In the story, the wise virgins were ready when the master came and they went to the wedding with him. This is a reference to the wedding between Jesus and the believers who will be taken up to heaven. The foolish virgins weren’t ready and they were left behind. When they showed up at the wedding, Jesus sent them away saying he didn’t know them.
It’s no secret that Jesus intended this message to be heard by every generation. Why would Jesus want us to know He could come back at any time? He wanted us to know because if you’re ready for His return, it means you’re living your life according to God’s will, and not according to your own will. It means you’re in right standing with God. This means that instead of holding on to the hope of eternal life with one hand while clinging to your sinful desires with the other hand, you’re living a life of obedience to the Lord. Jesus wants every believer of every generation to live their lives in a way that they would be ready at any moment for His return.
I’ve talked with so many people who don’t appear to be ready for Christ’s return. Many of them like to quote the last part of Matthew 25:13. They never mention the first part of the verse, which is “Watch therefore,”. They just like to quote the last part “you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming”. They do this prove the point that we can’t know when Christ is coming.
They say things like “Jesus might not come for another thousand years”. They’re betting their eternity on the hope that they can live their lives on their own terms and then get right with the Lord when they’re old. Many who haven’t made a decision to follow Christ, are betting they can be saved from their death bed. Well, they can be saved from their death bed but that’s a huge gamble since none of us know when our time is up. Please don’t gamble your final destination in eternity on that kind of foolish thinking.
So then, how are we to watch for his coming? In Matthew 24, Jesus tells the disciples the signs to watch for so that they will know when the time of his return is near. More than any other generation that has ever lived, we are seeing these signs in ever-increasing frequency and intensity. Just like the birth pangs that Jesus described in Mark 13:8 (NASB). So, please be ready for Christ’s return. Your eternity depends on it!
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