It is not uncommon for our home to receive guests from far and near. When we have had little or when our resources have abounded, we have always welcomed guests. I believe everything that we have is a gift from God, and He gave it to us to share. Our things are tools to be used to love others. On a few occasions, there have been those who tried to break into our home, and those are intruders. Thankfully, we have never suffered as a result of an intruder.
An intruder is someone who is not welcome. It is someone who forces their way in without an invitation. A guest is someone you invite into your home. Usually, you prepare ahead of time for a guest. You make sure you have all the necessary things to make them feel welcome and at home. You anticipate their coming, and if it is someone you really enjoy being with, you get excited. The thought of spending time with them and sharing what you have brings joy to your heart. If they have only given you a general idea of the time of their arrival, you start preparing early to make sure you are ready when they knock on your door. You seem to be pacing the floor or looking out the window as the day gets longer. You are extremely anxious, ready, and waiting. I know how this feels because I have been in this position many, many, times.
One day, we will all have a welcome guest or an intruder. The Bible speaks much about the second coming of Jesus. He told those who watched Him ascend into the Heavens that He would come again in Acts 1:11. The disciples and those who followed Him must have had very mixed emotions. It had only been a few weeks since they had watched their Friend and Savior die on a cruel cross. They had experienced the joy of His resurrection, eating, walking, and talking with them as He taught them. Now, He is leaving again. He had truly been a welcome guest of theirs, one they wanted to stay forever. Even though He had to leave, He assured them He would come again.
Act 1:11 “Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
Jesus tells us in John 14:3 that he is leaving them to get Heaven ready for them. He assures them He will come back for them and take them to this place He has prepared. This message is for all who have trusted Him as their personal Savior.
John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
Titus teaches us that we are to be looking for Him. He is our hope of a home in Heaven. He is our Savior, the one who saved us from eternal punishment for our sins in Hell. We are to be waiting with anticipation and believing with everything in us that He will return. Because we do not know when He will return, we are always to be ready.
Titus 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;”
When I am expecting a house guest, I clean my house and keep it clean, so that it will be ready whenever they arrive. I put extra effort into each task to make them feel special and welcome. If they are guests spending the night, I go to each bedroom and bathroom to make sure there is nothing out of order. I check everything! I make sure there is extra soap, shampoo, tissue, and anything else I can think of, that they might need. I examine what I have done to make sure it is acceptable. This is how we should examine our lives in preparation for the return of Christ. No area of our lives should escape careful evaluation.
II Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
Have you examined your actions and your words? James teaches us that we must be a doer of the word, not just a hearer. What do you do with the words you hear from the preacher? Do you listen and obey the words taught from God’s word, or do you toss it over your shoulder to the next fellow, thinking it’s only the preacher’s words?
James 1:23 “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”
We need to be ready and waiting for Christ’s return. Do you think about the day He will return? The Bible teaches that no one but the Father knows when Jesus will return, but His return is certain. Every day, we should look with anticipation, examine ourselves against the truth of God’s word, and seek to tell others about His imminent return. I Corinthians 15:52 gives us an idea of how quick his return will be. The expression “twinkling of an eye” is the least conceivable duration of time we can imagine.
I Corinthians 15:52 “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
If you are not ready, His return will be as an intruder. Everything will be set for all eternity. You will no longer have an opportunity to change your life. At that moment, your eternity is sealed. It will be the greatest day of your life or the worst day of your life. When He returns for you, will He be an intruder or a welcomed guest? Are you determined to live it in anticipation of His return?
