You've Got A Deadline
Many of us need deadlines to get things done. They serve as a target, and some people describe them as freeing, because they know they have to get it done by a certain time, and when that time is over, there is a sense of finality. It feels good to meet a deadline and once you meet it, it’s done.But not all deadlines can be planned precisely. I used to tell my kids to make sure the kitchen was clean, “before mom gets home.” Sometimes, she’d get home and they would be busily in the middle of filling the dishwasher, wiping the counters, and emptying the garbage. She arrived sooner than they thought and when the garage door began to open, they dashed into the kitchen to meet their deadline. They didn’t.There is one really big deadline for all of us that is like that. People put off preparing for it because it seems like it is way off in the distance. They figure they will have plenty of warning. Jesus said in Matthew 24:44, “This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”That’s like the deadline I used to give my kids. I didn’t tell them when Linda would be home (sometimes I didn’t know). I just told them to make sure the kitchen was clean before that. The deadline was her arrival. Not knowing when, would make it a good idea to do it right away.And that was Jesus’ point. We do not know when we will meet him, in death or when he returns. But that day is coming. No one really expects death when it arrives. No matter how long we live, or even how ill a person has been, death appears before we thought it would and our lives are over in a flash. James said that life is like a vapor, that it may appear to be in full force, but with a light gust of wind, it vanishes suddenly.Our lives are like that. You may feel as though you will live forever, but you won’t. Your life will end sooner than you think and more suddenly than you will have time to prepare for. So stop vegging in front of the TV, get into the kitchen, and get it clean! Hebrews 9:27 says, “People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (NIV). The day you stand before God is quickly coming. Thousands before you, in just the last year, read warnings like this, as you are doing now, and have since stepped into eternity.That deadline is nearing. Be ready.