1 John 2:28
And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.
On the look out from the second floor living room in my parent’s house, I was waiting for the reflection of my father’s car to appear from around the corner. “Dad’s home!” I knew that I had just enough time to jump off the back of our couch, run down the stairs, and to make it outside before he arrived.
Not that day though. That day I took a sharp right at the landing and headed for the solitude of my bedroom. My little brother was right behind me.
This wasn’t such an uncommon sequence of events at my house. On the days that I behaved and was good to my mother, I looked forward to my father’s arrival. On the days that I had been less than obedient, avoidance was the best option. Sometimes it was out of fear, other times it was out of shame, seldom did it ever work.
The advice found in 1 John 2:28 reminds me of this story. The apostle is writing to us, reminding us that our obedience now will affect our joy upon Christ’s return. How you live your life today will affect how you respond to His return tomorrow. As a child, I had the privilege of knowing what time my father would arrive home. This knowledge allowed me to shape up in plenty of time to greet him. We have no forewarning of His return. It will happen in the blink of an eye, like a thief in the night. And when it does, we have been commanded to found ready.