Are You Ready?

I’ve been a believer in Christ for the majority of my life. Like, no, really, my family faithfully attended church throughout my childhood. But it wasn’t until my early twenties that I became a follower of Christ and began to understand and build a relationship with God. See, I’ve learned that you can believe in Christ and still not follow his ways. 

Well, in my early twenties, I began to read and study the Bible outside of the Sunday morning services and Wednesday night Bible Studies. As I read through the Old Testament, I often found myself grieved by the way the people that God chose often rejected Him. From where I was sitting, it didn’t make sense, especially since I was in a place where I yearned to really know God for myself. It was interesting because, at the time, it felt like I was being dealt a double dose of grief. In my personal life, I was experiencing rejection from relationships that I had given my all to.  

I remember thinking at times, “Man, this must be how God felt when the people he loved rejected Him.” And let me tell you, it did not feel great. 

One person who knew this feeling very well was Hosea. To demonstrate this love-rejection relationship, God told Hosea to go marry a prostitute. Hosea was obedient, but man, oh man, did he endure constant rejection and humiliation. This was like a real-life parable unfolding. But God wanted to give His people a clear view of what they were doing to Him.  

A few weeks ago, my husband and I watched a modern-day movie based on the story of Hosea. As I watched, I found myself feeling that same grief all over again. I realized that while this may be thousands of years later, God’s chosen and adopted children are literally still choosing to chase other gods—the god of money, the god of control, the god of self, the god of lawlessness, and so many more. We have become so accustomed and desensitized to the things of this world that we’d rather run after everything but the will of God.  

Listen, I ain’t throwing stones at nobody’s house, because real talk, I too have had moments in my walk with God when I, for whatever reason, chased after other things than Him. Moments when I relied more on myself and my own way than on God and the path Jesus paved for me. And guess what, when looking back, it grieves me to know that I too was guilty of rejecting God during those times. 

But here’s the good news. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and you still have breath in your body, you still have a chance to repent [ask for forgiveness and turn from those offensive ways] and make the correction. So much is going on in this world right now, it’s hard not to see the resemblance to the accounts in the book of Revelation. The elders back in the day would say, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” Or “You better get right, because these are the last days and Jesus is coming soon.” Now, I’m finally seeing what they were saying. 

So, today, I am here to remind you that time will not last forever, and for those of us who are followers of Christ, the time is now to realign our lives with God’s will. If you know God told you to do something, get it done. If God told you to clean your house [stop chasing the things that he finds offensive, correct your heart posture, etc.], then do it. Yes, the Bible says that no man knoweth the hour that Christ will return (Matthew 24:36), but trust me, you do not want to take that for granted. Because if Jesus came back today or you found that it was your last day on earth, can you honestly say you’d be ready?