Are You Ready?

Every once and a while I’ll catch a line in a movie or song that is very obscure in comparison with the entire movie or song, but it impacts me in a way that the author probably didn’t intend.

One of these moments was not too long ago while watching the movie “Joe Dirt.” I know you’re probably wondering what in the world could that movie teach anyone? It’s slapstick, low-brow humor about a kid who is abandoned by his parents and ends up living an interesting, as well as funny, life.

One scene shows Joe Dirt walking into a town where he encounters several local hooligans who take it upon themselves to pummel him. Its slapstick and they don’t really hurt him, but during the punching and shoving that Joe endures he says “Is this what you wanna be doin’ when Jesus comes back?”

He says it almost subliminally, but I caught it, and wow did it have an impact on me. “Is this what you want to be doing when Jesus comes back.”

That phrase has almost become my Mantra as I go through my daily routine. Is everything I’m doing each day something that would bring glory to God, or would I be embarrassed if Jesus suddenly walked in the room?

This simple line from a movie where a guy eats French fries off a giant ball of excrement he mistakenly thought was a meteor after an over passing airliner did a waste dump, has turned out to be an important piece of my Christian life. It’s amazing what can give us theological insights. Even from Hollywood.

So what are you doing today? Are you glorifying God in your actions and speech? Are the jokes you’re telling ones you would tell Jesus? Do you make excuses about your behavior and say it’s not that bad? Would you do what ever it is you’re doing if Christ was standing next to you?

I know I’m not perfect and I wouldn’t condescend to tell anyone how to live. I’ll just leave it with you to decide – is this what you want to be doing when Jesus comes back?

"For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.” I Thessalonians 5:4

Are you ready?

“Jesus, thank you for your sacrifice and washing away my sins. Help me to overcome the things that make me stumble, and give me strength to boldly act out my faith so when you return I will have no reason to hide my face from your glory. Amen.”