Getting Ready

Getting Ready

I am in state of great excitement and anticipation. My best friend, who lives in the USA, is coming to visit me, in Australia. Every day, since she enthusiastically purchased her plane ticket, we have been counting the days down.  At the moment of writing this, we are at 8 weeks and 6 days. As each  new morning dawns, we calculate one day less until she will joyfully arrive at Sydney airport. In my mind I am rehearsing over and over that moment when she will step through the doors at the arrivals area of the airport, and pushing her trolley full of tightly packed luggage, she will proceed down the ramp. Will I patiently wait behind the rail until she reaches me, or will I disregard the signs and run up the ramp to give her a big hug and help with the luggage?

Meanwhile, I am in a place of great preparations. There are multitudinous things to attend to. Firstly, she is gluten free and mostly vegan. I am not gluten free, so I have created menus and shopping lists and I am in the process of cooking special delectable savouries to go with vegetables and salads, just for her. Placing the savouries in small, meal sized containers, I am stacking my freezer. In my spare time, I am researching interesting places to go to and fascinating things to do, discussing them with her, as we make our choices. I have created a list of what we could do each week she is here, the free activities, the places to visit close by, and the major day trips. My mind  is merrily anticipating journeys to the aquarium, steam train rides, a cave tour to see beautiful stalagmites and stalactites, the Butterfly House, dolphins and much more. On our list we can calculate costs and budget and plan. My excitement is mounting. What Bible study will we choose to do together in the mornings? What spiritual book will we read together in the evenings? I am smiling. I have looked around the house and factored in some major “spring cleaning” projects. The filing cabinet was decluttered of the many unnecessary papers and moved into the second spare room, thus creating more space in our dining  area. One of my daughters left home during her college time last year, dragging an assortment of pillows with her and now I suddenly find the pillows in this house are in a depleted supply. So plans are under way to purchase some more. The house is humming with activities and purpose. My husband is cheerfully helping me in all the preparations and looking forward to my friend’s arrival. In the final week there will be one last spruce up, one last lawn mowed and one last item cooked. We will be ready. 

As Seventh Day Adventists we often hear the phrase, ‘ get ready for Jesus’s second coming’. What does that mean? How do I get ready? What will that preparedness look like in my life? I can ponder a time schedule based on a list of end time events to be unfolded in the future or I can realise that if I get ‘hit by a bus’ tomorrow, then my next waking thought will be, the second coming of Jesus. So in reality, Jesus’s Second Coming could be any time. If that is the case, what does readiness look like? Just as I look with joyful anticipation on my friend’s arrival, I too can look with joyful anticipation to Jesus’s coming. I love my friend, I enjoy every moment with her, I want to spend time with her.  I love Jesus, I enjoy every moment with Him and I want to spend time with Him. This desire to be with my friend creates within me an enthusiasm to be prepared for her coming. The desire to be with Jesus, always and forever, creates in me an enthusiasm to be prepared for His coming. With my friend I am budgeting, planning events and activities centred around being together but we are spending time together right now in friendship. I am spending daily time with Jesus in friendship now, getting to know Him more, connecting and growing in Him and allowing Him to change me, as I behold His love for me. I eagerly look forward to spending eternity with Him. My preparations for my friend’s arrival absorbs my time, my money and our household plans. Preparing for Jesus’s arrival absorbs my entire life, my thoughts and my heart, all that I have and all that I am. Am I preparing for Jesus’s Second Coming? Are you?

Matt 24: 44 Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes.

Rev 19:7, 8 Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.