Ready or Not

For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 ESV). As you may know, Mary works in Smyrna, TN, which is about 40 miles from our home. It is quite a commute. Since she is gone for most of the day and I office out of our home, it makes sense that I should do most of the cleaning. Unfortunately my methodology of cleaning with “a lick and a promise” does determine the level of cleanliness of our house. I must confess, I am not nearly the housekeeper that she is. I do try to keep up with the basics. Some laundry, dishes, and general housecleaning are being done. However, it would not pass her inspection at all! For example, the bathrooms are simply not what they ought to be. I'm trying to be a good “mom,” but it is just not up to par. So, when I know it is time for the real work of cleaning, I will adopt a completely new course of action. I will put on my EPA-approved hazardous materials yellow suit and go in. I will clean it from top to bottom just to make sure that I don’t give her the impression that I haven’t done anything around the house. I suppose I could do a little each day and it wouldn’t be nearly as “hazardous,” but then I haven’t assigned that a very high priority as of yet! The worst-case scenario would be for her to come home unexpectedly. It would be a “ready or not, here I come” experience. I wouldn’t even have time to get the haz-mat suit. It would be a national disaster area for sure. Our reading declares that Jesus is coming back also, and he's not calling ahead to warn us. I wonder how many people will be caught unprepared? The Scripture indicates there will be those who are caught off guard in the most embarrassing moment of all time. "Live deeply in Christ. Then we'll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives." (cf. John 2:28). I want to be one of those caught "living deeply." His coming is a sure thing. That’s the impact of our reading this morning. These words are only reassuring when there are no towels mildewing on the floor when we're ready. When I hear the trumpet blast, I want to get a thrill from the music, not experience a terrifying moment of unpreparedness. He is coming, ready or not. Let's get out the enviro-suits and get the life cleaning finished so we don't have to be red-faced at his coming. Will you be ready, or not?