It seems to me that whenever we know there is a big change coming we usually live differently. If you know that you’re going to die in a year, you try to make every moment count. If you know that you’re going to inherit a lot of money, you probably change the way you handle your finances. Certainly if you know that you’re going to get married or have a baby, you have a lot of preparations to be made. Each of these anticipated changes alters the way we live – from time to money to conversation to the clothes we buy.

I can’t think of a bigger or more significant change for those who believe in Jesus as their Savior than the moment that we will leave this life to go live with him. It will come in one of two ways: we die before Jesus returns or Jesus will return before we die. Either way, knowing what’s coming should, in fact, change the way we live. It should change our conversation, our finances, our friendships, our plans and our priorities.

In anticipation of this great change St. Paul wrote, “Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Whether we enter heaven through the gate of death or through the gate of the return of Jesus, either way we will be in the presence of Jesus Christ our Lord. And with that sure change ahead, may we live our lives for Jesus now.