Readiness
Today’s Scripture Selection: Matthew 24:44
“So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
When most people read this verse, or preach about it, they start thinking or talking about the “end times”.
They ponder what it will be like when God – who started everything – will bring everything to its grand conclusion – or at least to whatever He has planned next.
But I think it can have another meaning.
Jesus can come into our lives in the most unexpected of ways; at the most unexpected of times.
And while that may mean you have faced death – and are now facing Him – can’t it mean something else too?
I believe the living, active, powerful, loving, Christ can sometimes insert Himself into our everyday moments; decisions; actions.
And then we have a choice to make – a most important choice.
The choice of whether we will follow His lead, or not.
From seemingly small decisions; to ones of monumental importance – when we least expect Him – there he is.
And free will has everything in the world to do with following, or not following – and facing the consequences either way.
So, be ready.
As the old “Candid Camera” show used to say,
“When you least expect it,” there He will be.
Will you be ready?
Prayer: Lord, open my eyes to all the ways you are actively – and wonderfully – part of my life. AMEN.
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By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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