I used to have to take timed tests in school, where you had a certain amount of time to complete all of the questions. At the start of the test we were told how much time we would have to complete it all, and once the timer started, we needed to get right to work so that we would be finished before the time was up.
Personally, I didn’t have any trouble finishing before the time was up, but there was almost always someone who didn’t complete the whole test in time. Maybe they got lost in thought, or got distracted by something and couldn’t complete it, but once the time was over, everyone had to turn in their tests, whether they were ready or not. We all had the opportunity to do what had been given us, but not everyone used their time wisely and finished.
Maybe you have played “hide and seek” when you were younger. As you probably know, there is one person called the “seeker” and the rest are the “hiders.” After agreeing on a set amount of time, the “seeker” will begin to count up to the set number, and the “hiders” need to find a spot to hide in that amount of time. “Ready or not, here I come!” the seeker will yell as the counting stops. If the “hiders” haven’t found a spot to hide in that amount of time, they will be found, and “lose.” They had time to prepare and hide, but those who wasted their time won’t be ready.
When a home or business is robbed by a thief, does the thief let them know in advance at what time he will break in? “At 2 A.M. I am going to break in and rob your safe.” Do they do that? Obviously not. They will come at a time unannounced, break in, take what they can, and leave.
Neither do we know when the Lord is going to return, or even which day will be our last. We have been left information in the Holy Scriptures to let us know when the time is getting close, but we do not know the exact day or time.
“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4
Because of this, we need to be ready now. Are you ready now to be with the Lord? Are you living the way that you should be right now? Are you loving your neighbor as yourself, right now?
There is no time to waste. There can be no putting it off until “tomorrow” or “sometime” or “when I get around to it.” Now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).
What if you got up out of your bed tomorrow morning and you tripped, fell, broke your neck and died? Would you be ready at that moment to meet the Lord? Or are there things that you wish you would have changed in your life?
Only God the Father knows when that time will be, and that is why we need to be ready right now. That is the choice we need to make right now, are we ready or not?
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” Matthew 24:36-44
If we want to spend eternity in heaven, we need to use the short time that we have wisely, in His service, and live according to His word. Just a short amount of time, like a candle that is lit and blown out, that is our life. It is written in 2 Peter 3 that 1000 years is as a day unto the Lord and a day as a 1000 years.
The Lord is eternal, without beginning or end. This is something that our minds cannot comprehend because everything on earth has its beginning and its end. Everything starts and stops, everything is born and dies, everything created can be destroyed. Nothing of the earth can last forever.
People can try to keep strict diets and eat healthy, they can try to “cryofreeze” their bodies to try to live longer, they can do all sorts of things in an effort to try to prolong their life, but there is only one way to live forever. There is only one Person who can grant everlasting life. Jesus.
If you haven’t already, begin preparing yourself today and ask yourself, “Am I living my life for Christ? What things do I need to change so that I am not sinning against God or others? Am I doing everything that I should be doing and what things do I need to change?”
“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14
Time on earth is short. Are you ready?
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 