Growing up in my church tradition we celebrated Christmas for the whole month of December. We decorated the church, sang all the carols accompanied by piano and organ. We went caroling to the Nursing homes and to the homes of our shut ins. We practiced every Sunday afternoon for the upcoming Christmas program, learning our lines and learning our songs. Then, the Sunday before Christmas we celebrated the nativity and, in the evening, we had the kids program complete with the final act of handing out the Christmas treat bags – highlights of a child of the 60s Christmas experience.

Christmas Eve arrived and we all spent the night with our families. No Christmas Eve services, no midnight candlelight observances. Nothing is wrong with any of those but it wasn’t part of my Christmas tradition. Family was.

New Years Eve, that was different. Every New Year’s Eve of my childhood and teen years were spent at the church. We would gather as a congregation for fellowship but then as the year was drawing to a close we met in the sanctuary and worshiped and prayed and waited. It was called a Watch Night Service. We had celebrated the birth of the Christ Child but finished our year in anticipation of the Child grown, sacrificed and now risen, for His Return. There is nothing prophetically relevant about Dec. 31, we just wanted to start the new year in remembering that our Hope is in Christ’s return.

Our Triumphant Lord and Savior IS coming back. Theology is full of arguments about the exact timing and circumstance of that event; however, Jesus will return.

On the day of Jesus’ Ascension, the angels said: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” Acts 1:11.

Two thoughts this New Year’s Eve: First, the Return of Jesus for His church is the ultimate hope and intended fulfillment of God’s design for mankind. For many of us, the return of Jesus or our going to be with Him in Heaven is our back up plan. It’s plan B or C… The thinking is that if life here and now doesn’t work out at least I have heaven. It’s our safety net not our desired goal.

In the words of Kenny Chesney: “Everybody wants to go to heaven. Have a mansion high above the clouds. Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go right now.”

The fulfillment of life and the intended design and goal of God was for us to share His Kingdom and His life forever. This is something we should long for regardless of how comfortable, uncomfortable life is now.

The second thought is if that is our hope and desire we should get ready.

1 John 3:2,3, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

John writes with anticipation of Jesus’ return. You can feel the expectation of knowing it is going to be far grander than we can imagine. The final transformation and work of Christ for His believers. The earnest motivation is to be ready for that moment: “purify themselves.” Get ready, Jesus is coming.

We “get ready,” by accepting Jesus as our Lord and savior. We repent, confess our sins and accept His free gift of forgiveness and restoration to relationship. We “get ready,” by cleaning house, allowing His Spirit to refine us in conduct and manner in anticipation of Him being there. We all understand cleaning house in expectation of honored company. There is no greater company than in Jesus, no greater moment than His return for us.

Remember this one?

People Get Ready… Jesus Is Comin’ by Avalon

People get ready Jesus is coming, Soon we’ll be going home.

People get ready Jesus is coming, To take from the world His own.

Maybe this year…