“Are you ready yet?”
Sometime in your life you’ve probably been asked this question.
– are you ready to get on the bus for school?
– are you ready to perform your solo at music contest?
– are you ready to walk down that aisle and become married?
– are you ready to walk into that courtroom?
– are you ready to say goodbye to your ailing parent?
– are you ready to meet Jesus?
Some things in life are easy to “be ready” for because we know when they will happen. Many children will ride the bus to their first day of school sometime when they are five or six years old. Many young adults will set a wedding date and walk down that aisle into a hopeful future. Many of us will look forward to specific dates like college graduation.
But some things in life are not so easy to “be ready” for because they catch us unexpectedly. A spouse caught in an affair. A childhood friend dying of stage 4 brain cancer. A young mom killed in a car crash. An elderly parent suddenly hospitalized – and failing – after a bad fall. Is there any way to prepare and be “ready” for such life events?
On one level, it doesn’t take too much awareness to realize that hard things happen everyday to someone(s) somewhere. This lines up with an accurate reading of the Bible which reminds us that in this life we will have troubles and suffering. Even the writing of the Apostle Peter isn’t exactly warm and fuzzy when he says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:12-13 NIV). It sounds great to be “overjoyed when God’s glory is revealed,” but I doubt many of us admit to be excited and enthused about “participating in the sufferings of Christ.”