Articles
ARE YOU READY
In July of 1959, the Queen of England visited Chicago. The city
made careful preparations for her coming. The waterfront was
readied for the docking of her ship. The wastebaskets were
painted and the red carpet was rolled out. Many hotels were
alerted. When the Drake Hotel was informed, the manager replied,
“We are making no plans for the Queen; our rooms are always
ready for royalty.”
In a similar way, spiritual preparation must be continual if we are
to be prepared for the coming of the King of kings. Indeed, Jesus
will come again to take His followers home to that place He has
prepared for them (Acts 1:11; Jn. 14:1-3). Thus, it can be said:
“Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.” Nowhere is
this so evident as in the first epistle of John, where the apostle
says, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared
as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears,
we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He
is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself,
just as He is pure” (1 Jn. 3:2-3). If we would be prepared for the
coming of Christ, we must constantly and continuously fix our
hope on Him by purifying our hearts in obedience to His truth (1
Pet. 1:22). For when Jesus comes again, there will be no time for
the hurried frenzy of last-minute preparation. Jesus says,
“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your
Lord is coming” (Mt. 24:42).
