Get Ready

The Letters of Paul to the Thessalonians are among his earliest writings, and are driven by his belief and the belief of the entire early Christian community that the return of Christ was imminent. Therefore, to devote time or attention to anything else was foolish.

As time progressed, this fervor receded a bit. Today we may wonder, when we hear these readings about the coming end-times, if we should take them to heart. What should we do when we hear that the day of the Lord will come upon us “like a thief at night”? (1 Thessalonians 5:2) Does this mean we are to stop our long-range goal-setting, get rid of our yearly calendars and planners, or stop putting money in the college education fund? Of course not. What it does mean is that we need to change our lives, living like children of the light and illuminating the world around us with the light of the gospel. Then, on that day, when the details of our daily living become unimportant, we will be ready to find our peace and security in Christ Jesus.