READY OR WORRIED?
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Life does not stop. It keeps coming at us with its busyness, noise, weariness, and distractions. We worry about getting by and keeping up, fitting in and standing out. It is easy enough for our hearts to be weighed down with the good things of life—and too many of them. Even more, we can be weighed down with anxieties, entertainment, procrastination, and temptations. The world tends to grind us down and wear us out. The life that does not stop is a trap that locks us in and uses us up. Life does not stop—until it does. An end—and the end—“will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth” (Luke 21:35).
Jesus warned that an awareness of the end—whether for us individually or for our world as a whole—should perpetually reprioritize our concerns and anxieties.
Some things that seem so urgent, important, or attractive are simply not so when considered in the context of our mortality. And we should be looking to invest our lives, our time, our resources in things that matter. Living ready—for death, for the end, for Jesus’ return, for eternity—is about living well. It is not about grim survival through difficult times, although we all have those times. It is about living in the way Jesus laid out, with the assurance of His presence in all our circumstances and in all our times. This frees us from the traps of our many anxieties and trivialities, meaning we can live with greater freedom and joy, even amid trials, challenges, and disappointments.
