Isaiah 43:1-4; Isaiah 62:1-5; Jeremiah 2:1-3; Mark 12:28-31

The Lord our God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father, loves us with an everlasting love. (See Jeremiah 31:3) Like a husband is supposed to love his wife, like a father is supposed to love his children, the Lord God loves us fiercely and unconditionally. And He desires to be loved in return.

I bring all of this up today as I think about the twelve who were shockingly killed in Colorado this past week. Equally tragic, weeks earlier, was the news of a young man in his mid-40’s who’d always exercised and eaten right, but who died suddenly as he sat at his cubicle at work. Sudden, seemingly meaningless deaths, hit us human beings where it hurts.

Fox News Religion Correspondent Lauren Green hosted a program the other day asking “Where is God during tragedies?” because the Bible tells us that God is good, “God is light,” John writes, “and there is no darkness in Him at all.” (1 John 1:5) And when we human beings think of “goodness” and “light” we have trouble seeing where suffering and tragedy and death fit with that. So we can ask, “If God is truly all-powerful, and if He is truly good and filled-with-light, then why didn’t the Lord find some way to have authorities discover Mr. Holmes plan and stop him, or simply use His almighty power to keep Mr. Holmes car from starting that night? And we can doubt the Lord’s goodness and that He is truly “filled-with-light”, or we can doubt whether or not He is truly all-mighty…

Another response people can have to the uncertainty of random violence and insecurity is fear: Since we can’t control everything we control what we can. So we never go to the movies ever again; and we demand our doctors check us for everything and anything, everytime; and we lobby for more and more safety and security measures from government and businesses; etc… And parents live anxious and worried every moment their children are out of their sight; and children live anxious and worried every moment their parents are out of their sight.

I believe the Lord has another option for us: To be ready.

The all-too shocking, tragic events that seem to fill our newspapers and news shows hopefully remind us how precious life is, but they clearly show us that we do not have as much control over our lives and the world around us as we think we do (no matter how hard we may have worked to be in control). We are not promised to live even to see the end of this Worship Service, let alone the end of today or tomorrow or even five years from now. There are no guarantees.

However, the Bible tells us that God our Father is in control of all life. Singing to the Lord, Psalm 139 tells us: “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” (Verse 16) The good-Shepherd-of-our-souls knew the day of our birth and knew the day of our death before we were even a twinkle in our parents eyes; and before even they were a twinkle in their parents’ eyes! No evildoer, wasting disease, natural disaster, or random accident can shorten our lives or take human history out of the Sovereign God’s almighty hands.

And, as we’ve read and said, He loves us with an everlasting love and desires for us to love Him in return.

So what do I mean when I say we can “Be ready”? I mean that in the Bible God has sought to prepare us for the troubles and sadnesses that are a part of life in this world. For instance, the Lord Jesus said, “Here on Earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) And in another place He said, “You will always have the poor among you.” (Matthew 26:11; Mark 14:7; John 12:8) And in another place states, “You will hear of wars and threats of wars… There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world… You will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are My followers.” (Matthew 24:6, 7, 9) He’s let us know how very troubled and dark this sinful, fallen system of things has become.

But the Lord also comforts us in the midst of it all, promising that, just as our Lord Jesus has gone away into Heaven to intercede and provide for us, in the same way Jesus will one day return for us, take us out of the world, put an end to this sinful, fallen system of things, replace it with a new Heaven and a new Earth – a new Creation where there is no more mourning, nor crying, nor pain, nor death anymore – He will make all things new. (See Revelation 21:1-4)

The Lord Jesus tells us, “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the Flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the Flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

“Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.

“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” (Matthew 24:37-44)

Which brings us back to being ready, and which brings us back to our God and Father loving us with an everlasting love, and desiring that we love Him in return, which is how He calls us to be ready, by loving Him in return as we wait for His return.

You see, I know that many of you believe in God – that He exists, is all-powerful, even, perhaps, that He is truly good and “filled with light”. But the Lord our God is calling us to more than mere belief, to more than mere acknowledgment of His existence. After all, the devil knows that God exists, and even fears Him. But the devil doesn’t love God, and God is calling us to love Him.

Do you love God? Like a bride is to love her groom, do you love God? Like a child loves and absolutely trusts their parents, do you love God? I think about the ways I love my wife and ask you, When you get ready in the morning, do you think of yourself as getting ready for your Beloved? Would your Beloved feel loved and considered by the modesty of your clothing? When you talk with your friends at work or at school or over the phone, would your Beloved feel loved and considered by the language you use and the subject matter you talk about? When you post onto Facebook, would your Beloved shine at the way your posts and page shows the world your love for Him? When you’re planning the day you’ve been given or the ways you are going to spend the money you have, would your Beloved feel loved and welcome to be a part of your activities what you buy?

When I think of the ways I respect and love my and Amy’s parents I realize that, although I might think they have more time to visit us than we have to visit them, I know that the Bible tells me to honor them if I want a good, long life here; it doesn’t command them to keep on honoring me. Likewise, although I’m always counting on God to be there for me when I want and need Him, I realize that He is God: I need to be there for Him; I need to set apart the time to be with Him, and to work to make it all about Him (especially since I’m so prone to always want to make it about me), and to honor and respect what He says when we meet.

Surprises are going to happen. Tragedies are going to occur. And, unless Jesus returns in our lifetimes, each of us is going to die, as are our parents and our spouses and our children and our other loved ones. Instead of doubting God’s goodness every time something bad happens around us that we don’t understand, and instead of living in anxiety and fear, trying to control every aspect of our lives in ways we were never meant to be in control, how about just being ready for trouble and trials and tragedy whenever it’s going to happen? How about simply returning God’s love?

The Lord our God loves us with an everlasting love, and He desires for us to love Him in return. Are you ready to actively begin pursuing a love-relationship with God and make Him your Beloved? Are you ready?