AUGUST 19, 1 John 3:2, 3

One evening not long before her marriage was to take place, Lisa looked up from her desk. She smiled at Tina. “I thought I’d read my Bible and forget all about weddings for a few minutes,”said Lisa,“but guess what the passage I read was about?” “What?” asked Tina, who was sprawled on her bed. She was almost as excited about wedding plans as her sister was.

“It’s about Jesus and the Church - the Bible refers to believers as God’s Church. It says husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the Church,” Lisa answered. “ The Church is also called the Bride of Christ, and Jesus is referred to as the bridegroom! Someday He’ll come back for His bride.” She paused, a thoughtful look on her face. “You know how hard I’ve worked to make sure everything is just right for my wedding to Dan! Now I’m wondering if I’ve been as careful in preparing to meet Jesus.”

“I’ve seen the preparations you’ve done for your wedding,” said Tina, “but how do we prepare ourselves to meet Jesus?”

“Trusting in Christ to forgive our sins is the beginning,of course,”Lisa answered, “and then, according to the third chapter of First John, we should be purifying ourselves.”

“What does that mean?”Tina asked.

“Well,think about it,”said Lisa.“I want Dan to always be pleased with the way I behave. I want to learn to love the things Dan loves - and the places he enjoys going.” She grinned. “I’m even glad to go fishing with him!”

Tina laughed, remembering how Lisa disliked squiggly worms. “So... if we really love Jesus, we should want to be doing things that would please Him if He came right now. And we should be in a place He would approve of, right?”

Lisa nodded as she climbed into bed. “ at’s right.” she agreed. “We should want to stay away from sin and live pure, clean lives for Him. Let’s both remember to work on that as well as on wedding plans.”

Thought: If Jesus came today, would you be ready? Are you keeping your life pure? Do your thoughts and actions please Him?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to look forward to the Second Coming of Jesus. Teach me to be a good Christian child, and to seek to live a life of holiness pleasing before You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.