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SCRIPTURE READINGS:
JOSHUA 24:1-3a, 14-25
1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18
MATTHEW 25:1-13

SUNDAY REFLECTION
When a superior officer is visiting an institution, we realise that a lot of work goes on to ensure that when he or she comes, he or she will feel welcomed by the environment and the workers of the institution. Similarly, before Jesus returns the final time in His full glory, we His servants are expected to prepare for His coming, this brings us to our theme “Prepare for the day of the Lord.” To prepare means to be ready. The day of the Lord refers to the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Prepare for the day of the Lord means be ready for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We shall reflect on the following facts about preparing for the day of the Lord:
1. Depending on our preparedness, the day of the Lord will either be a day of agony or joy.
2. We must prepare for the day of the Lord by remaining faithful to the end.

Firstly, depending on our preparedness, the day of the Lord will either be a day of agony or joy. Paul assures us that whether we are alive or sleeping (dead) so long as we are prepared for the day of the Lord by living or dying in Christ Jesus we shall experience great joy and salvation. Paul reaffirms this fact when he wrote “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). However, if we are unprepared like the foolish five virgins who failed to carry extra oil for their lamps, we shall experience rejection and agony on the day of the Lord. Jesus greatly encourages us to be like the five wise virgins who were ready or prepared for the coming of the bridegroom and were made to share in His joy when he arrived. “The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. ¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ ¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ ¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. (Matthew 25:10-13). Paul also admonishes us, “But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. ⁵ You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. ⁶ So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. ” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6). In the spirit of preparedness, we must pray to God to “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalms 90:12). Beloved in the Lord how prepared are you if you are called upon to render an account of your life today? Are you spiritually and morally prepared for the day of the Lord? To remain prepared for the day of the Lord, Paul admonished us “to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:1-2)

Secondly, to remain prepared for the day of the Lord, we must be faithful to the end. It is for this reason Joshua admonished the Israelites when they got to the promised land, ““Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness…But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:14,15). Dear friend, for now, we have the free will to serve God and be faithful to Him or not but let us be mindful of the fact that on the day of the Lord, we shall account for our stewardship. Joshua reminded the Israelites that “He (God) will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. ²⁰ If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.” (Joshua 24:19-20). Paul also reminds us of the importance of being faithful until the day of the Lord when he wrote “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10). Jesus assures those who will be faithful until the day of the Lord that “the one who stands firm to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13). Beloved in the Lord, regardless of the obstacles we may face in our church and society, let us approach our calling and service to the Lord with diligence and faithfulness even as we heed to Paul’s admonishment when he wrote that “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ²⁵ Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favouritism.” (Colossians 3:23-25). Whatever you do in the house of the Lord and for God and humanity, do it faithfully. In other words, we are called by God to preach, evangelise, give, serve and help others faithfully in our churches and society. We are greatly encouraged by Jesus in Revelations 2:10-11, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. ¹¹ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. (Revelation 2:10-11).

In summary, we have deliberated on the theme, “Prepare for the day of the Lord”. We have discovered that depending on our preparedness, the day of the Lord will either be a day of agony or joy. Again, we must prepare for the day of the Lord by remaining faithful to the end. May the Holy Spirit empower us to remain prepared even as we await the day of the Lord. Amen.