Living

As the majority of the world knows, the supposed "Rapture" was due to happen this past Saturday, May 21. As we all very well know, it didn't happen, and while I could rant about that whole situation in general, it's not the point of this blog post. The point is, I actually learned something from the whole thing that, dear reader, you may or may not be interested in learning, too.

While people on Friday and Saturday kept mentioning things about the Rapture and such, I either replied with a witty response or just kept mum. However, here were the following thoughts going on in my mind: I know there's not going to be a Rapture because the real Rapture will come when everyone least expects it (see verses in Matthew and the epistles to the Thessalonians) , but hypothetically if it did happen soon, would I be ready? What would I say? How would I react? It was kind of funny because while these thoughts went through my head on Saturday, which was the same day as my boyfriend's prom, I also started thinking, "Well, if it happened today, I'd sure look ready! I look like a princess!"

But herein lies the rub. People don't become a part of God's Kingdom just by looking the part. People become a part of God's Kingdom through faith in Christ, legit faith. And it's the people who legitimately yearn for God wholeheartedly that He brings into His presence. And as I was sitting in my dress, thinking about what would happen if Jesus came back at that precise moment, the convicting thought for me was, "Looking at my life, am I prepared to return home with God?"

Preparation is the key word. "Ready" is a decent substitute, but "preparation" carried the weight and denotation that I'm looking for better. How have we been preparing ourselves for Him? Have we been good stewards of the resources He has granted us? And are our hearts prepared, in the sense that they crave Him more than anything else?

For me, it's a question of the way I live my day-to-day life. When I say that my way of living isn't glorifying to God, I don't mean that I drink or smoke or am sexually immoral or anything like that. What I mean is that I forget that He is my reason for living as I go about the busyness of my day. And that very fact is as appalling to God as much as any sinful behavior!

I can only imagine the awkward conversation that would ensue when I hit the pillow after a long, busy day of everything on my agenda all about me, maybe saying a few quick prayers before falling asleep, if then all of a sudden the Rapture happened and Jesus appeared before me. Oops, sorry Jesus, I was too busy for you? Like that would go over well! Seriously, though, think about it.

When it comes to living life as a Christ-follower, there's no question of means-justifying-ends or ends-justifying-means. The means and the ends always justify each other. This exact reason is why I don't want anyone to think that "getting to Heaven" is so important that we do everything so that we can achieve this. No, no, not at all. Definitely not. (PS: I'm grateful to my friend Kevin for calling me out on this on Monday.) Heaven could be considered the cherry on top of this whole delicious sundae of life in Christ. As Christ-followers, honestly it's rewarding simply being in an amazing relationship with Jesus. And there is much more to be said about this last concept, but that's a different topic for a different day.