But last spring, my principal decided to do one round of scheduled observations, as opposed to the unannounced ones that have dictated our teacher evaluation scores for the past several years. So I signed up for a certain day/time, and she confirmed exactly when she would be arriving. And although I pride myself in always giving my best whether my boss is watching me closely or not, when I knew she was coming, I took extra efforts to make sure things were just right. …hence the extra cleaning up, the added attentiveness to the dress code, and additional hovering. 

Every day, I am prepared. But when I knew without a doubt that my principal was coming to visit, my preparations kicked up a notch. 

A similar thing happened at the end of the school year last spring when my journalism students were embarking on their final “cycle” of the school year. Because it takes about three weeks to produce an issue of our school newspaper, my journalism class operates in three week cycles. While some students are working on the newspaper for those weeks, others are engaging in other “cycles,” including graphic design, journalism history, infographics, video editing, and more. For our final cycle last May, I had solidified the students who would be on newspaper duty, and I was letting some of the remaining students select which cycle they would do for the last few weeks of the year. One sweet girl, who just likes to write, asked if she could be on the newspaper cycle even though the newspaper slots were already filled for that go around. She said, I know my article won’t be published in the paper, I just want to write another article. 

I loved hearing this! So, of course I agreed! As this girl wrote her rough draft and then navigated through corrections and revisions on drafts two and three, she and I both found ourselves in a different mindset. Although we’re both pretty hard workers, we worked with a little less urgency and precision, knowing that her article would not be published for the entire school to read. She was writing an article about tariffs, which I cannot claim to be an expert on. As I edited her first and second drafts, if I’d known that her article was going to be published, I would’ve done a little extra research about her topic to make sure that everything she was writing was 100 percent accurate. I probably would’ve asked another teacher at our school (one more knowledgeable about tariffs, etc.) to read over it for me, and I honestly would have held her to just the tiniest bit higher of a standard. But, I knew that particular article wouldn’t really be seen by anyone but her and me, so I let a few things slide that I normally wouldn’t have. 

The problem? When we got to the final stage of doing the page design for that last issue of the newspaper for the school year, we were a little bit short on content. So guess what? Yep, we needed to publish the tariff article. Eek. I immediately regretted my more casual approach, and I buckled down, going back and doing all of the more thorough researching, double checking and verifying that I should have done from the beginning. 

Every time I edit my students’ work, I challenge, teach and guide them in improving their articles and, simultaneously, advancing their writing skills. But when I know without a doubt that their finished writing will be read by an entire school of students and adults, my collaborative preparations with the student writers kick up a notch.

In both of these scenarios, I wasn’t doing anything wrong to begin with. On days when my principal isn’t visiting my classroom, I still show up to work prepared and give it my very best effort. And when I’m editing newspaper articles that aren’t scheduled to be published, I still guide my students through corrections and revisions that sharpen their work and make them better writers. BUT… When I knew for sure that my boss would be walking through my door, I took a few extra steps to make sure my classroom and lesson were in tip top shape. And when I realized that the tariff article was going to be published in the newspaper, I went back and double checked several of the details to make sure they were accurate and appropriately thorough. Bottom line—my preparations become more intentional and ardent. 

I feel like reading Revelation 22 makes my preparations for Jesus’ return become more intentional and ardent. Three times in this final chapter of the Bible, Jesus says that He is coming soon. 

• “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.” -Rev. 22:7
• “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.” -Rev. 22:12
• He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. -Rev. 22:20

If you’re a Christian and you’re anything like me, then you’re doing your best to follow Jesus’ example as you live each day. You’re far from perfect, but you’re trying to be obedient and faithful to Scripture’s commands and the Holy Spirit’s promptings. But I wonder… When you’re thinking about how to respond to a coworker who just sent you a cruel email, would you respond juuust a little bit differently if you thought Jesus might be making His big return in the next 24 hours? When your morning alarm clock goes off and you’re deciding whether to grab your phone or your Bible, would you respond juuust a little bit differently if you thought Jesus might be making His big return later that very morning? When you’re thinking about telling that family member about the Gospel one more time or just settling for easier, more shallow conversation, would you respond juuust a little bit differently if you thought it might actually be the final chance you have to bring that loved one to the Lord before Jesus comes back to claim His own? 

It can be far too easy to lose the sense of urgency that believers in Christ ought to always live with. We know Jesus is coming back someday, but with every passing day that He doesn’t show up, we can grow numb and increasingly lethargic toward His ever approaching return. We get distracted, distanced and disengaged. We mistakenly assume that there’s plenty of time. …plenty of time to straighten up those sinful corners of our lives. …plenty of time to passionately share the Good News with our loved ones. …plenty of time to begin more fervently following after Jesus. 

But one day, it will be too late, and the trick is, we just don’t know when that “one day” will be. So we’ve got to pray for the passion and urgency to live every single day like it could happen that day. Approach every lesson like your principal might walk in! Edit every article like the whole world is going to read it. As the saying goes, stay ready so you don’t have to get ready. And don’t just stay casually, “pretty much” ready. Stay intentionally and ardently ready. Jesus is coming soon! He said it Himself. Will you live today like that’s true?