Ready to Give – Ready for God

I can remember planning a church event, a public demonstration, or a long road trip of one kind or another, and saying, "Let's do everything that we can to be prepared should something happen unexpectedly." The response that I usually received was, "Okay, let's try to do as much as we can to cover ourselves with a plan 'B.'" But one time after I said that phrase, the response was, "I'm sorry pastor, but how can we possibly prepare for the unexpected?"

I considered that response seriously. I know that no one can actually plan for the unexpected, but it raised another question for me which was: "Why am I trying to plan for the unexpected?" No one can really plan for something that is unexpected, because when we think that a certain thing could possibly happen that thing automatically loses its unexpected designation.

Most of us still don't want to be caught by some circumstance unaware which may bring dire consequences upon us. This is the situation with preparing for Christ's return to Earth. What does it mean to be alert and waiting for God's divine entrance into our existence? Read Luke 12:32-40.

Could it mean that we who are believers should get this world ready and in the proper order for that great day? How's that going for us so far? We have experienced some of the worst divisions based on race, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration, and social strata in recent history. There are global climate and ecological trends that are leading to a more unstable climate, a more polluted and toxic Earth, and eventually, to dire living circumstances. On top of that, the rise of violent aggression, mass killings, and street violence is horrifying.

We generally know ourselves, but sometimes, we overestimate our intelligence, strength, or resolve to do something we set out to accomplish for God and humanity. To me, it's because we work for solutions to our problems based on the idea that people will never change to be Godly people, so we have to put them in a state of restricted activity, social quarantine, or imprisonment. Do we believe that God will transform the world Christ is coming back to claim?