SPIRITUAL READINESS

    By A.J. Tozer

    The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober,
    and watch unto prayer.  --1 Peter 4:7

       When the Bible says that God is calling a special people
    out of the nations to bear the name of His eternal Son, I
    believe it and His name is Jesus!

       Our pious forefathers believed in spiritual preparation,
    and they said so. They saw themselves as a bride being
    prepared to meet the Bridegroom. They regarded this
    earth as  the  dressing room  to  outfit themselves  for
    heaven.

       The evangelical church has come through a period
    when nearly everyone has believed that there is just one
    prerequisite to readiness: being born again. We have
    made being born again almost like receiving a pass to a
    special event - when Jesus returns we whip out the pass
    to prove our readiness.

       Frankly, I do not think it will be like that. I do not
    believe that all professed believers are automatically ready
    to meet the Lord. Our Savior Himself was joined by Peter
    and John and Paul in warning and pleading that we should
    live and watch and pray, so to be ready for Jesus' coming.

---

    Yours in Christ,
    Paul N. F.