Be ready for action, and have your lamps burning. Be like servants waiting to open the door at their master’s knock when he returns from a wedding. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I can guarantee this truth: He will change his clothes, make them sit down at the table, and serve them. They will be blessed if he comes in the middle of the night or toward morning and finds them awake. [Luke 12:35-38 (GW)]

“Ready or not, here I come!” Do you remember that call when playing hide and seek as a child? Ready or not, time marches on. While walking today, I saw the first robin of the season and blurted out, “I’m not ready.” A harbinger of spring, the robin was a reminder that we will soon depart from our Colorado mountain home. There are still things I want to do and I’m simply not ready to say leave. I want at least one more powder day; more runs on “Rainbow” and “Cyclone;” another hike through the snowy woods, to the falls and along the river; additional hours gliding over my favorite cross-country trails; and more time with my mountain friends. Whether I’m ready or not, however, my time in the mountains is ending. The snow is melting, the bluebirds have returned, the snowbells and crocuses are up, and responsibilities in Florida beckon.

I’m not sure any of us are ever truly ready for certain things: grey hair, arthritis, wrinkles, and having children who’ve all celebrated their fortieth birthdays being just a few. We’re never really ready for car accidents, cancer or heart attacks, either. Jesus, however, cautioned us about a lack of readiness with several parables. He counselled expectant watchfulness on our part because, as unpredictable as life is, there are several things for which we must be prepared. We must be ready to serve, to speak the truth, and to face temptation. Moreover, we must always be ready to face death, judgment, and the second coming of Christ. Ready or not, He will come. Are you ready?

Therefore, be alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will return. You realize that if a homeowner had known at what time of the night a thief was coming, he would have stayed awake. He would not have let the thief break into his house. Therefore, you, too, must be ready because the Son of Man will return when you least expect him. [Matthew 24:42-44 (GW)]