Keep my spiritual bags packed

So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Matthew 24:44

You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Luke 12:40

When I was making the commute to Israel on a regular basis, my least favourite thing was to pack my bags. In fact, when going away, I always leave packing to the last minute - a source of great displeasure to my nearest and dearest.

Because I knew when my flight was booked and the exact time of departure, I could get away with doing everything at the last possible moment.

With the return of Jesus, it's not so easy. Even He doesn't know the day or the hour and warns He's coming at an unexpected time.

He said only The Father knows the timing. Can you imagine in your mind's eye, Jesus, on the Throne of the Cosmos looking at the Father and asking: "Is it now? Should I fetch them now?"

The chapters in the gospels that discuss what the earth will be like just prior to the Return of Jesus - Matthew 24, Luke 21, Mark 13 - give us signposts and should keep us on "our spiritual toes".

There are various pointers - the re-establishment of the state of Israel, the love of many growing cold, lawlessness, natural disasters getting closer and closer together, wars and ethnic unrest, false religions, pestilences and hearts failing for fear!

So the more I see these events coming together like labour pains, I'm impressed to keep my spiritual bags packed, loosen my ties to this world and keep looking for Jesus.

Like when you go through security at an airport there are items that you can't carry into Heaven - grudges, gossip, resentment, greed, prejudices and unforgiveness. So it's time for me to trim my heart luggage and travel light!

As Jesus is coming soon, I ask myself: "Are my spiritual bags packed and ready?"