This post is written by Shaq Hardy as a companion for Unit 25, Session 4 of The Gospel Project for Adults, Volume 9: From Death to Resurrection (Fall 2023).
All believers and all creation are waiting eagerly for the expected return of Christ. The question for us is not if Jesus is coming back but when Jesus is coming back. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus says, “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels of heaven nor the Son—except the Father alone.” No one except the Father knows when Jesus is coming back. Our job is not to try to figure that out and speculate on when it will happen. As followers of Jesus, we are called to prepare for the return of Jesus. Everything we do should point, in some way, shape, or form to the kingdom of God because God’s kingdom is our ultimate destination. It’s the kingdom we were made for and the kingdom that is being prepared for us.
It’s easy for us, however, to become entrenched in the world we live in now. Every day has different worries, and every day presents new challenges. Sometimes it’s hard for us to see outside of our specific situations and circumstances. Sometimes the mundane things in life make it hard for us to look ahead to Jesus’s return. Babies throw up, things break, bills demand, bosses instruct, and we desire. Day in and day out, we face realities outside of our control. But we can’t allow ourselves to become bogged down by life. We must constantly look ahead to the return of Jesus because in all the monotony and troubles that life can bring, God is inviting us to the journey of building His eternal kingdom—a kingdom He has been preparing for us since the foundation of the earth.
Here are three things we can do to prepare for the return of Jesus.
1) We Prepare Wisely
Wise preparation looks like us doing now what we will do in eternity, mainly, cultivating a relationship with Jesus. The greatest thing about the kingdom of heaven isn’t streets of gold or food that won’t make us fat (we call that glorified Chick-fil-a). No, the greatest gift of the kingdom is a relationship with Jesus with zero sin driving a wedge between us and Him.
Revelation 21:3-5a says:
“Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. Then the one seated on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making everything new.’ “
Jesus is making all things new, and He is going to make His dwelling place with us. The way that we prepare for His presence then is by living in His presence now.
2) We Do Good Work
Good work for God is not to be confused with work to get God. We don’t have to work for our salvation because Jesus already did the work necessary to save us. Instead, we work from our salvation as citizens of Jesus’s kingdom.
In Ephesians 2:10, Paul says:
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”
The way the ESV ends that verse is: “. . . that we should walk in them.” God does all the work of bringing us to Him, and He even prepares the work that He has for us to do. All we do is walk in what God has prepared. The purpose of our work is not to get into the kingdom but to build the kingdom.
3) We Model Jesus’s Compassion
Jesus’s earthly ministry was filled with compassion, even for those who desired and successfully sought to kill Him. Jesus’s compassion can be seen in His teaching, feeding, healing, and rebuking.
Matthew 25:40 says:
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Jesus desires that we build His kingdom by not only sharing the gospel with our words but also with our actions. The most compassionate thing that Jesus can do for anyone is save them from their sin. Jesus has done that for you. He has placed you in a position and place to share and show the gospel to build His kingdom. Don’t allow the monotony of everyday life blind you to the amazing call that God has on your life.
Shaq Hardy is the president of the Orphan No More Foundation and has dedicated himself to working toward helping kids without families become orphans no more. Shaq has served as an itinerant preacher for the past ten years and served as a full-time student pastor for six years.
