How did you spend your last day off? Or, given the endless responsibilities in our busy world, perhaps a better question might be, “What would a perfect day look like to you?” Playing video games? Watching movies? Sleeping? Eating everything in the refrigerator? How many of us look forward to filling any free time with studying God’s Word?
Is it any wonder we are always caught off guard when we have an opportunity to share the Gospel? Paul urged the followers of Jesus to be ready to defend the Gospel at any time (2 Timothy 4:1-2). We’ll never be ready as long as we keep our brains engaged with the things of this world instead of what God has written in His Word.
The way we can be ready to share the Gospel in season and out is by constantly studying scripture (2 Timothy 2:15). When was the last time you did that? I’m not talking about checking the box for your daily reading. I mean a deep and earnest study of His Word, the kind of focused study that makes hours go by without even noticing. If you don’t want to be caught off guard when your friends or coworkers challenge your beliefs, you’ve got to prepare yourself daily.
What if someone came to you asking you to explain the Gospel to them? Could you do it, or would you fumble about with vague notions and maybe a Bible verse or two? We as the Church at large have gotten lazy and are ill-equipped to deal with the questions and challenges of the world. All the answers we need are in the book that we tend not to pick up between our Sunday morning excursions. To have something to say to the world, we have to know what God has already said. We can’t know the Word of God unless we immerse ourselves in it.
We need more than going to church on Sunday morning. What we need is constant worship of God throughout the week. Until God becomes the driving force of our lives, we are going to be caught off guard by every attack of Satan and miss most opportunities to share our faith. How can we claim to know God when we refuse to spend time with Him? Make no mistake, every time we choose to spend our time on the trivial pursuits of this world, we are refusing to spend time with our Lord and Savior.
Perhaps you think such a single-focused life is fanatical and unrealistic. But this is the life Jesus calls each of us to. He said unless we deny our selfish desires, love Him so much that anything else we love looks like hate by comparison, and unless we serve Him and only Him, we cannot be His disciples (Matthew 16:24; Luke 14:26; Mark 12:28-30; Exodus 20:3-5). This isn’t just a radical way to live, it’s the only way to live for followers of Jesus. Is He worth that kind of commitment for you? The worst way any of us can get caught off guard is to be surprised when He returns. If we are not willing to know Him now, He won’t know us later (Matthew 7:21-23). That should terrify us all. Don’t be caught off guard.