Stay Ready

One morning, the principal at the school where I teach received a text from a principal at a nearby school: the superintendent was in the area. Fearing a surprise visit, the administration quickly scrambled to get everything in order and make the school presentable for the guest of honor. Teachers were instructed to ensure students stayed off their phones and were actively engaged in collaborative learning when the superintendent arrived. Hall monitors were posted, hallways and bathrooms were cleared, and administrators stopped by classrooms to see if we needed any additional support.

The Bible warns us about these type of last minute scrambles:

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.” (2 Peter 3:9-10 ESV)

Some may think God is acting slowly because Jesus hasn’t returned yet. But this is an act of great mercy from the Lord, as his patience is meant to lead us to repent (Rom. 2:4). We know in another part of our reading this week that if we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us (1 Jn. 1:9). When I was younger, I believed I could live however I wanted and just "get right with God" later in life. But Scripture warns us that Jesus will return like a thief in the night—no one knows the day or hour (Matt. 24:36).

My camp director used to say, “You gotta stay ready, so you ain’t gotta get ready.” If we live in readiness for Christ’s return, we won’t need to scramble like my school administrators did that morning. Ironically, the superintendent never showed up, and we merely looked like the perfect school for a day. But Christ will return, and Peter urges us to pursue genuine holiness (v.11), by “[being] diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace” (2 Peter 3:14 ESV). This doesn't mean we put on a phoney outward holy appearance (1 Sam. 16:7). Rather, we give thanks for God’s patience and use that mercy as an opportunity to repent daily.

If I received a last-minute invitation to a king’s wedding, I’d scramble to find the finest suit I could—trying to appear majestic, even though I’m not. But we have a timely invitation to the wedding of the true King. And the good news is, we don’t need to shop for a fake suit of righteousness, because our King freely clothes us with his own.

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