I firmly believe that one day I will stand before God, and He will ask why He should let me into His heaven. My response will be one word:  Jesus.

Then he will ask what I did to demonstrate my total dependence on Jesus during my lifetime, and I will say that I took up my cross daily and followed him.

That means that every year, I gave myself entirely to the work of the Lord. Each week, I worked forty hours as required, but then donated at least ten more hours. I chose to spend countless hours writing the best sermons I could and delivering them with all my ability. I met people and stretched myself to talk when I would rather be alone. I gave up my evenings to be a part of a small group when I would rather watch sports in my living room. I have poured out my energy, stretched my mind, and sacrificed a “normal” life because I believe that Jesus is my Savior AND Lord.

I do not write this to brag about my service. Many people do far more than I do. This is not even a call for people to become full-time ministers, like me. I am not trying to communicate that I am better than anyone. I am nothing special. In fact, I am a total mess. I am only a sinner saved by the grace of God, and I trust Jesus with my whole heart.

The reason I write this is because on the day of judgment, Jesus will not only ask those two questions of me, but of everyone. Honestly, the first question is relatively easy to answer. The second one requires everything. But if the first one is true, the second one is compulsory.

I don’t know where I first heard the expression, but I am sure it was on TV or in a movie.

Imagine cops walking into a bar to arrest a suspect, and they say, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” What they mean is that the suspect can get up and walk out quietly, or they can beat them into submission and drag them out against their will.

There are two ways to make decisions. We can choose the path of least resistance, or we can take the one with the most resistance.

Being a follower of Jesus means that we have chosen both the easy way and the hard way.

Sometimes, choices are clear-cut and require little thought, effort, or impact. If you are asked to lie, you simply respond with a “No.” Easy decision, limited resistance, and you don’t have to remember the lies you told.

Sometimes, the same choice is not so clear-cut and can make your life more difficult. If your boss asks you to lie about some numbers so that everyone gets their bonus, the decision gets more complicated. I know people who have lost business, friends, and respect because they chose the hard way.

I wish I could tell you that following Jesus is always the easy way and it leads to your best life now, but that is not true. Sometimes your choices as a believer will result in your life becoming more difficult.

Choosing to follow Jesus means that we do not make choices based on ease or comfort, but rather, they are based solely on His word and will. We can only control our actions, not how other people respond to them, and sometimes that makes life easy, and at other times, hard.   

Jesus is never concerned with providing us with details about his Second Coming, the end times, or any of the events surrounding them. He has little concern to teach us about when, where, or what it will be like. His primary emphasis in his teaching is on being prepared for the final judgment.

When he teaches about being prepared, it has nothing to do with looking to the skies, building a bunker, or establishing a timeline of events. Instead, he speaks about what we are doing with our lives today.

Matthew chapter 25 is one of the essential passages where he teaches us about his return. He uses three parables about ten bridesmaids, three servants, and dividing the people into two groups. Each picture highlights a singular idea.  

The first one is about five women who are prepared for the wedding party, and five who are not, as they run out of oil. In their quest to get some, they get left out of the reception banquet. The second story is about a man who leaves his servants with varying amounts of his wealth. One man receives five bags of gold, one person receives two, and the final person receives one. When he returns, he checks on their faithfulness based on what they did with what he had entrusted to them. Finally, he tells of the coming of the Son of Man and his division of people into sheep and goats based on their lives of service that were done prior to his arrival. The point is that we should be prepared every day for his return by utilizing what he gave us in a way that represents him well.

Whenever someone asks me about the end times, they are looking for some mystical knowledge that I might have discovered in the Bible that they are not aware of. My response to people who ask is quite simple: “Stop looking for some special information and start living out what you claim to believe right now.” Nothing else can prepare you for his return.