Preparation

09.18.11

Luke 1.17 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” NIV

Many times the question is asked, “If you were to die today, would you be ready to meet the Lord?” It’s a valid question. Meeting the Lord isn’t like meeting the president, or some celebrity – meeting the Lord is the most awesome thing that can or will ever happen to a person. I think when we share the gospel we often understate that. Meeting the Lord is meeting Someone who will totally transform one’s being at first glance. Meeting the Lord is meeting Someone who will suddenly and instantly bestow a perspective that no one else ever can. Meeting the Lord is losing our precious control…

John was to come in the spirit and power of Elijah. John’s ministry was to prepare God’s people for their meeting with Jesus, the Lord. John was to make them ready to meet Him. The only miracle that John did was to convict a populous of the coming of Jesus. And to some degree I believe he succeeded. Elijah’s last stand was on Mt. Carmel when he convinced many in Israel that the Lord was the only One who would consume the water-drenched sacrifice; it was an awesome display of the Lord’s presence and power (1 Kings18.16 ff). John’s ministry was to prepare them; Jesus’ ministry was to save them. So, if you were to die today, would you be ready to meet the Lord? In other words, are you prepared?

And who is responsible for your preparation? You are partly. You are to make yourself prepared but others are to come alongside as well and assist in the preparation process. The biggest part of preparation for the Lord is simply belief. The thief on the cross believed, and that is why we’ll meet him in heaven. He met Jesus in his way, on his day. Our preparation may be a little less dramatic, but we must be prepared nonetheless. I know, we sing, Just as I Am but that is how we come to the Lord. We also sing, We Are an Offering – that is how we are to live as we wait for the coming of the Lord. Big difference.

What a difference in my life as I live waiting for the Lord, focused solely upon Him. And what a difference my life makes as I do. There is a need today in this world for unflappable people and those who wait upon the Lord are unflappable; their lives are transformed, their lives have a perspective, and they would be the first to tell you: in Him, I’ve lost all control.

Being prepared for the Lord is coming to know Him and spending time with Him. It means praying His prayers and letting Him dictate the cadence of life. It means conforming to His will because much time is spent seeking to discern His will. It means reading His word and looking for those bits and pieces of life to restore those that are lost by the push and pull of this world. It means living in such expectation that even bumping into an angel at work, frightening as that may be, is accepted as God doing whatever He does to get our attention.

And it means living life every day, in ever increasing expectation and anticipation of meeting the Lord face to face. That’s preparation. That’s the measure of our present life and how ready we’ll be on that coming Day.