Am I ready for Jesus to return?

Many have asked about my moose hunt this year. Gerry Zellar and I again hunted together where he has hunted for over 30 years, and where I have joined him for the last 22 years. Every year I use a list to prepare for my hunting trip. I hope to bring the right clothes, the right food, the right guns and ammunition, knives and game bags.

Some of these items I know to bring because I’ve forgotten them in the past. But, each year I update my list so I’m prepared for camping in the Alaska fall and prepared for a chance to harvest a moose for my family.

I did not harvest a moose this year, but I saw plenty. The moose I saw would eat in the meadows and eat and drink in the pond where we hunt. They often came to my call. I saw cow moose come in pairs and individually to the pond we hunt. I called a cow and a calf so close that I had to move from where I was calling. I even saw a cow followed by a young bull. But his antlers were bigger than a spike or a fork, yet smaller than 50”. He had only one brow tine per side. Therefore, this bull was not legal.

So, we camped, we hunted, we ate and did some exploring. We read and did devotions together. We cut a new trail and solved the problems of the world. But, I never even shot my gun because I never saw a legal moose. In camp, at least.

You see, while we were driving to camp together, a little south of Cantwell, I looked to my right and saw a bull moose walking down to a small lake. This was a big bull. His antlers extended far beyond both sides of his body. I put my binoculars on him and couldn’t count the brow tines because there were so many.

As we stopped our vehicle the bull walked down to the lake and drank. He looked up at us and started walking through the water. He was actually no further away than other moose I have shot.

But, was the area where we were seeing this moose legal for hunting? There are areas along the Parks Highway where it is illegal to shoot within a certain distance of the highway. But there are other areas where a person is traveling through a park, or through private land, so it is illegal to shoot. I have always wanted to shoot a trophy moose. I had my gun and this large bull was right in front of me. Was this area legal to harvest moose?

We got out our regulations and tried to figure out where we were in game management unit 13A. We searched the regulations for the map that would indicate if this area was legal to hunt. As we did so this large bull moose walked through the lake and then quietly up into the hills.

I knew the regulations for moose camp and was prepared to hunt there. But I did not know and was not prepared for seeing a moose outside our little corner of the woods. So, because I was not prepared I missed my opportunity. Former ADFG biologist and member of my church’s congregation, Herman Griese, later speculated that this large bull moose might have wandered out of Denali National Park.

There are plenty of times in Scripture when God calls us to be prepared or ready. In 1 Peter 3:15 we are called to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

The reason for our hope is Jesus. Are you prepared to share your hope?

But, perhaps the most common and urgent plea of our Lord is to be ready when he will come again.

“So you also must be ready, because the son of man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:44)

It sounds like that moose. If I had seen this bull in moose camp I would have expected him. But he came when I didn’t expect it, so I was not prepared.

I could have studied the regulations more. Better yet, I could have hired a guide whose job it is to know the area and the regulations. But I didn’t. If we are unprepared in life, as I was in this instance, what makes us think we will be prepared for Jesus? That is an important question.

In all honesty, being prepared for Judgment Day is not something we do on our own. We all fail God and deserve punishment rather than eternal life.

It is Jesus who cleanses us and prepares us for eternity with God. But, Jesus is not just our guide who points the way and gives information. Jesus has taken the punishment we deserve for our sin and risen from the dead. Having a guide would have helped me in my hunt. When we believe in Jesus, God gives eternal life as a gift.

I thought I was ready for moose hunting, but I was not as prepared as I thought. I did not know the regulations and didn’t hire a guide. Are you ready for when Jesus returns? It is Jesus alone whose forgiveness and love prepares us for when he will come again.

Jonathan Rockey is pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer. Contact him at jonrock53@mtaonline.net.

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