Mark 13:26-27, 32-37 - [Jesus said] "And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send out the angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. ... But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake."

I remember a friend of mine, many years ago, who was getting married. He planned a magnificent wedding—a lovely ceremony, a ten-course reception, hundreds of wedding guests. We thought he did a great job preparing—until we found out about the wedding night plans. My friend was planning to spend the night in a sleeping bag on the floor along with his new bride and two other wedding guests!

That was no way to prepare for his wedding night! We told him his bride would murder him if he went through with it, and he changed his plans.

Today we laugh at that story—but really, what if the bride had found out about the first plan? What would she think about how he valued her?

We face much the same question when it comes to getting ready for Jesus' second coming. He has told us very clearly that He's coming back, but we don't know when. We want to be ready, because we love Him. There's no way we want to be caught unprepared—following our own desires instead of Him—chasing the idols of wealth or power or honor or prestige. By making sure we're ready, trusting and obeying Him each day, we show how we love Him.

And we're not the only ones, are we? Because God Himself showed what He valued most when He prepared for our salvation long ago, before the foundation of the world. He valued us. He knew from the start that we would sin and need a Savior; because He loved us, He became that Savior. He was born among us as a human being, served, suffered, died, and rose again—all according to the plans He had prepared long ago, to bring us back to Himself in love. He prepared for us—because He loves us.

WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, You prepared to save us out of love. Help me now to prepare for Your coming in love and trust. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Reflection Questions:

1. Have you ever been to an event where someone messed up the preparations?

2. How did the people at the event react? Why?

3. Why do people in love obsess over getting the preparations exactly right for their beloved?

Today's Bible Readings: Ezekiel 16-17    2 Timothy 2

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