Ready for Jesus' return

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.” Luke 21:34
Here in Luke 21 Jesus gives His disciples some insights into how life will be like before the last days (Luke 21:12). We should take notice of these and apply them to our own lives.
As the months and years go by, it feels as if the world is spinning faster and faster. Technology is advancing at an ever-increasing rate. Global troubles seem to get bigger and bigger, and we can easily get caught up in these things, and lose our focus on the things of God.
The doctrine of the return of Christ is called a purifying doctrine (1 John 3:3). It is called ‘the blessed hope’ (Tit. 2:12-13). If we lose sight of this, we can fall prey to three things, which Jesus tells us are ‘dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life’. These parallel the three ways in which we are tempted: the lusts of the eyes, the lusts of the flesh, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). These were the three ways in which Eve was tempted (Gen. 3:6), and the three temptations offered to Jesus.
‘Dissipation’ (NIV) refers to overindulgence – a lust of the eyes. Drunkenness is a lust of the flesh, and anxiety about the world we are in is one of the prides of life. These things can weigh us down and shift our focus away from the Lord. We may be prone to forget that Jesus could return at any moment, and neglect to be ready. In Matt. 24:45-51 Jesus tells a parable about a servant who was left in charge by his master, who departed for a journey. The servant would be rewarded if things were in order when his master returned; however if the servant had misused his position and lived as if his master was not returning, he would receive punishment. Which are you today – are you ready for Jesus’ return, or has your heart become weighed down by the things of the world?