A mother was answering her young daughter’s questions about her daddy’s death. “God sent for him,” she explained. “And someday He will send for you and me. Nobody knows just when.” Thinking about that for a moment, the child said, “Momma, if we don’t know for sure when God is going to send for us, we might not be ready. We’d better start packing!” She was right. No one knows when God is going to “send for us,” but we do know how to wait for that day. Whether He calls us through death (Psalm 23:4) or when Christ returns to take us home (1 Thessalonians 4:17), we should always be ready.
The attitude of the doctor in the following story further illustrates the wisdom of that little girl. A pastor said, “As a lad, I was employed as an office boy by an old physician. He gave me this advice: ‘Son, whatever you do, do it well. We never know when we turn the key in the door at night but that our work is all finished.’” The pastor continued, “He lived with that thought in view. And one evening he did turn the key in the door for the last time. His life’s work had been completed.”
As believers, we are looking for our Lord’s return. That’s a purifying hope (1 John 3:3). A special joy is awaiting those who are living for Him and ready for His call. But we should also be prepared for the prospect of going Home through the valley of the shadow of death. Are we prepared to see Jesus? If not, we had “better start packing!” – Richard W. De Haan
Someday, when fades the golden sun
Beneath the rosy-tinted west,
My blessed Lord will say, “Well done!”
And I shall enter into rest. – Crosby
Plan as if Christ’s return were years away, but be ready as if it were today.
- November 1, 1986, Our Daily Bread
For You 