We’ve all been there. Those times in life when we are given an ultimatum to be ready for something. How many times as kids were we told that mom or dad were going to be checking our rooms in 15 minutes and “they better be clean!”. Or perhaps you work in an industry like I do that gets audited and scrutinized every few years by either someone in the government or an accrediting agency and have to spend countless hours getting ready for that inspection?
In a similar matter, in 1 John 2:28 we are given the ultimatum to be ready for a “day of reckoning.” It reads, “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.” In our theological circles, we believe in the imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ, meaning that we believe the Bible teaches Christ will return to the clouds and call His Children to meet him there before taking them back to heaven with Him, and that this even could happen at any time. As such, John encourages us in this verse to live in such a way that we may have “confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”
The application of this verse is very simple, are you living in such a way that you are ready for His return? Certainly none of us live lives of perfection but overall, is your life one that if He were to come back today you would be ashamed at some of the activities you are apart of, thoughts you are dwelling on or bitterness you are harboring? May we confess and forsake those areas of sin so that we may face with confidence the imminent return of our Lord!