Are You Ready?
Many Christians believe the return of Jesus Christ is near. I hope they are right. The signs of His return are all around us. However, no one knows except the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, when He is coming back.
There is a very important and timely passage of Scripture that speaks to this need to be ready for the return of Christ. In 1 Thess. 5:23, we find these words: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Here we see that our whole person of body, soul, and spirit should be ready for the return of Christ whenever and whatever day that might happen. For 2023, I am asking you to adopt what we could call a Whole Person Strategy. The “whole person” includes our body, our soul, and our spirit.” If we take to heart, this very important verse, it would be wise to strive to work on all three of these areas simultaneously.
What I am writing about here is a focus on the physical, the psychological, and the spiritual. With our body we interact with each other and the world around us. If we were together, I could see you because you have a body. With our spirit, we interact with God. This is why we talk about spiritual truths, the spiritual life, and other such spiritual topics. With our soul, we interact with ourselves because our soul includes our mind (our thinker), our will (our chooser), and our emotions (our feeler).
The goal of the Whole Person Strategy is to be a well-rounded and productive person in all three areas. As we detect anything that might keep us from being this whole person, we should address this shortcoming.
We can each address these shortcomings individually. But in many cases, it is more productive, and you will become more of the person you want to be or desire to be with the support of a small group of trusted friends who are striving together toward the same “whole person” wellness. Notice again our verse included above. The goal in all this is to be “blameless” (to be totally ready) when Jesus Christ returns.
Probably, where you attend church, your pastor and other small group leaders are already working together to help people on this journey. In 2023, I want to join them and encourage you to put yourself in the best possible position or best possible situation to be the person God would have you to be and the person you want to be.
The fact is some people are ready, and some people are not. With focus and intensity, let’s all strive to be ready for the return of Christ. Let’s adopt a whole person strategy and see some tangible development this year. God Bless!
