Late last week I was hanging up laundry in the backyard and heard an ambulance. It was a long way away and was very faint so I ignored it. After a few minutes time, it was much louder and I could tell it was quite close. So I did what any good parent of young children does: I told my kids the ambulance was coming and then invited them to watch it. Shrieks of anticipation mixed with cries of despair. One of my children wasn’t ready.

My toddler had napped in the afternoon, and it being a hot, uneventful day, we didn’t push her into getting dressed again after she awakened. She’d been playing on the floor, clothed, though only to the smallest of margins.

The thought of a fleeting glimpse of the ambulance sent her scrambling for appropriate clothing so that she could join her sisters on the deck, but she was too late.

I could tell she was too late, even from the other end of our yard, because of the wailing that at that point even drowned out the waning ambulance siren.

I couldn’t help but pause, clothespin in hand. How many people won’t be ready for Jesus? The Bible says that His return is certain. Every day we get closer and closer to the second coming of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-2
“Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.“ We don’t know when, just that He is coming and that the day of the Lord will be one of wailing and despair for too many people.

And pure, complete joy for others.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

I don’t know which side you are currently on, but the Lord is waiting for you with open arms. He doesn’t want anyone to perish. He wants everyone to know Him. The problem with that is our sin. God can’t be around sin. He’s perfect, and you and I are not. But God loved you so much that He sent Jesus, His only Son, to take your sin upon Himself. He took your sin, the punishment for your sin, and gave His blood for you. Jesus died so that you could live forever! And then after three days Jesus came back to life, having completely conquered death! This is the Gospel. If you admit that you are a sinner and need God’s grace and forgiveness, believe in and confess the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, and choose to follow Him, you will be saved. I implore that if you have not made this decision to do so today. Tomorrow could be one day too late.

As I was writing this up, another thought occurred to me: I could have told my children sooner. It was a still and quiet day. I had several minutes to let them know, but I waited just a little bit too long.

How many people won’t be ready for Jesus’ return because I didn’t have the courage to say something? Because I waited a little bit too long? Fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, we are not exempt from this illustration.

1 Peter 3:15
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”

Always be prepared. Make preparations. Be ready. This is not a “fly by the seat of your pants” kind of deal. This is eternity we’re talking about. People’s lives are at stake. If you need to write something down and stick it in your wallet, do it! If you need to study the plan of salvation so that you can present it clearly, get it done! God gives us frequent opportunities to share with people, make the most of them.

Matthew 24:36-44
“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, f but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must BE READY, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

(all of the scripture verses are taken from the NIV 1984 translation. I added the emphasis on Matthew 24:44)