August 7: LIVING IN READINESS
“Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day…” Acts 2:29
When a believer dies, his next conscious thought will be the thrill of Christ coming in glory – a bright awakening to the voice that calls the sleeping saints from their graves by name. Followers of Jesus are taught to live in expectation of His second coming. Such an expectation is grounded in gratitude to God for lifting the burden of guilt – forgiveness! – and the guidance richly provided by His Holy Spirit. This guidance is in perfect accordance with His word. David wrote of repentance, cleansing, and forgiveness, and was assured of these things when he was alive (see Psalm 51). Currently, he is resting in peace, unaware of the passage of time (see also Hebrews 11:13,39-40).
A ‘babe in Christ’ is just beginning to get to know Him. Such a one might say, “Lord, thank You for giving me new life, for the forgiveness of my past rebellion and failures. Teach me Your ways and empower Your servant to follow You in faithfulness.” Such a prayer demonstrates the upward direction of a life renewed in Christ. This empowerment is compared to the same power that resurrected Christ: …if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:11) As long as we live in these mortal bodies in this fallen world, Jesus intercedes for us. He is vitally interested in the development of our character. The Savior’s prayer for His living people is a prayer for sanctification: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17) While we still have much to learn, our willingness to follow what we do understand determines the direction we are headed. Can you imagine the opposite attitude revealed if the above prayer ended thusly: “Teach me Your ways and empower Your servant to follow You in faithfulness, unless it is inconvenient or requires me to change.” Unfortunately, this is the contradicting attitude of many who name the name of Christ.
None of us knows when our last day in this world will be. We should live every day as if it is the last, putting Jesus first! Pray that:
… the Father of glory may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him…that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. Ephesians 1:17-20