What if Tomorrow Never Came?

"Do not wait until tragedy hits your life before you discover what is most important. Open your eyes now to the eternal, the spiritual, the things of God. Prepare for the next life before it is too late." 

What is the focus of your life? Is it seeking things to be happy or achieving important goals? And what if your life was suddenly taken from you today? Would you be ready, or so focused on this life that you were not ready for the next? Questions like this can make us think and may reveal that our life needs some adjusting. (image from IRMP Consulting)

Related to this, a man in a crowd once called out to Jesus, wanting Him to get involved in a personal matter. He was having a dispute with his brother over the family inheritance. In response, Jesus made a profound statement, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).

Jesus laid His finger on the real problem. It was not his brother, but the man’s focus. He was being tempted by the potential wealth he could have with some of the inheritance, and all the things he could do with it for himself.

Jesus knew this temptation was a common problem in the human heart, so He told a story to illustrate an important truth.

He shared about a wealthy farmer who had a tremendous harvest, “. . . and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ (Lk. 12:17-19)

Now if Jesus ended the story at that point, there would be nothing to learn. Instead, He continued with these striking words, “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” (Lk. 12:20-21)

The farmer’s life focus, was the “here and now.” For him, his life revolved around his work, building wealth, and making plans for his future. The farmer gave no thought to anything beyond his own interests, nor to the eternal, spiritual or anything of God. As a result, his Creator called him a “fool.” Why? Because all the things he focused on would mean nothing in the next life. He could take none of it with him. At death it would all be ripped away from his earthly hands and left behind to others.

Let us not be so quick to condemn the farmer. If we are honest, many of us are much the same. The temptation to become fixated on this life is real, because there is so much that grips our attention. The more and more stuff we buy, the day-to-day challenges, the busyness. We all have fallen prey to this common enemy. That is until a major crisis hits.

Cancer. Car accident. Heart attack. Natural disaster. When things like these suddenly appear, it is often a wakeup call. The farmer was focused on this life, storing up things for himself, when God announced he was going to die that very night. That was not in the farmer’s plans. He was not ready.

Do not wait until tragedy hits your life before you discover what is most important. Open your eyes now to the eternal, the spiritual, the things of God. Prepare for the next life before it is too late. Jesus died and rose again to show us our urgent need and greatest priority. That is, to prepare to meet God and live for Him. Store up heavenly treasure though sharing the good news of Christ, obeying God’s commands, being faithful toward Him, forgiving those who have hurt you and loving your neighbor.

A prayer for you. “Lord God, show us if we have put the stuff of this life ahead of you. We admit and repent from our ways. Change us, O God! Become the priority in our life and prepare us for the next, whenever that day should come. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

The World’s Most Polarizing Figure

"When we think of the kinds of people that are polarizing; politicians, actors, musical artists, athletes and activists come to mind. We typically don’t think of religious ones like this, yet the most polarizing person in the world today is a religious one – Jesus."  

Polarizing people. There is no neutral ground. You either love’em or hate’em. It is a combination of their personality, public presence and things they say and do all rolled into one. For some they know what they are doing and purposefully push the limits for their own gain. For others though, they do not want to divide. It is the opposite. They want to be helpful and do good, but as they go about doing their work, they are resisted at every corner and division surfaces.

When we think of the kinds of people that are polarizing politicians, actors, musical artists, athletes and activists come to mind. You typically would not think of pastors or other kinds of religious figures as polarizing. For most of them stay away from controversial issues, and seek to bring people together through sharing messages of hope, love and forgiveness. Yet, the most polarizing person today, which has been for centuries, is not a political figure, but a religious one – Jesus. And He was well aware of this and explained to His followers, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before . . . you." (John 15:18)

Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, provided food to the hungry and loved the unlovable. His personality was one of kindness and graciousness, always putting others above Himself. Why was Jesus so polarizing then? It was a combination of His message, claims and how He presented those. He was humble, but also bold and confident. He served the outcasts of society, which the religious leaders condemned. He knowingly defied their religious traditions. He courageously addressed their sins publicly before the people and to them personally. He made claims about Himself, aware the leaders would twist and say He was uttering words of blasphemy. On many occasions, when they came to confront Him in front of the crowds, He stood His ground and wisely responded to their deceptive tactics.

Jesus was fully aware of the impact His message of truth was having when He said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.” (Matthew 10:34-36) What was so offensive about Him?

It was His constant effort at pointing out sin in the hearts of the religious leaders, political leaders, the audiences that came to hear Him and even His own disciples. Many times, this frustrated and flat out enraged His opponents. Yet, Jesus stood firm, never wavering and was ultimately the reason He was arrested and sentenced to death through crucifixion.

Why is Jesus still so polarizing today? The very mention of His name in some places can instantly bring tension. Why? For the same reasons. We are born with the instinct to put ourselves first and do life our way. At the same time, we may acknowledge Jesus and recognize Him as a good teacher. But this is where the offense is; we stop short of turning from the sin He points out in us, and following Him by faith. And if the issue is pressed, we will become firmer in our resistance, rationalizing a way to remain in our sin.

One day, whether you have accepted or resisted Him, He will bring the world to its knees. The Scripture says, "God has highly exalted him . . . so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord . . ." (Philippians 2:9,10,11) Instead of resisting Jesus’ to your own demise in this life and the next, turn from your sin and follow Him. Receive Him today.

A prayer for you – "Lord Jesus, bring your light and expose the darkness in our hearts. Help us not to be offended, but welcome it. For you want us to have new life and be free. Help us to receive that new life by faith. Amen.”

Peace with God in the Storm

"Have you ever gone through chaos or suffering in your personal life or observed it in the world and said to yourself, “Where is God?” This question rises based on what we see and feel from our limited human perspective. However, just as we have a question for God, He has one for us too."

The chaos and suffering in our personal life and world can lead some to say, “Where is God?”, but this is what we see with our human understanding. God sees the same thing we do, but from a different perspective and greater understanding. And just as we have questions for Him, He has a question for us.

Jesus’ own disciples felt this way once when they were facing death on the high seas. Once after a long but fruitful day of ministry to people, Jesus and His disciples climbed into a boat to cross the sea. They pushed out and settled in as they rowed to their destination. Some of the disciples, due to their fishing experience, knew how to navigate the waters well, so were at complete ease on the waters. Shortly after they were on their way, Jesus laid down and fell fast asleep.

Very soon however, the winds picked up and they found themselves in the middle of a full-blown storm. The wind speeds were high and created large waves that crashed down on their boat. As they began taking on water, the experienced seamen became fearful their lives might be lost at sea.

Meanwhile, Jesus was unfazed, and continued in a deep sleep. His disciples, agitated and filled with fear, angrily awoke Him saying, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38).

Jesus then stood, looked out on the stormy sea and spoke firmly and directly to the wind and waves, “Peace! Be still!” (Mk. 4:39) And immediately the winds calmed and the waters became still. The disciples stood in amazement and looked with astonishment at each other saying, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?” (Mk. 4:41)

When the disciples awoke Jesus, they had a question for him, now Jesus had a question for them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mk. 4:40)

Their eyes were fixated on the storm and they became controlled by their emotions of panic, fear and doubt. They lost all sense of reason. With Jesus, the Son of God, physically there on the boat, did they really think Jesus and all of them were going to drown?

Jesus’ question was to bring a sense of reason, not just peace, back to their panic-stricken minds. The crisis revealed who Jesus is and how He can be trusted, even in times of overwhelming trial and suffering. He showed how He is not a mere man, but God in human form. And as such, He has power over nature, the devil and his demons, sickness, death and even evil itself. He can simply speak and these powers must submit and obey Him because He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Which then leads Jesus to rightly ask all of us, “Since I am Lord over all. Why are you so afraid and have no faith in me?”

Like the disciples, in the midst of the storms of life, we can have some of those hard questions. “Why God?” “Where are you God?” “Don’t you care God?” We look at the evil, injustice, chaos, pain, tragedy, heartache and from our human understanding we cry out. Then Jesus responds, “I am here. Won’t you trust me?” But to trust, means we have to let go of whatever we are clinging to and turn to Christ. The disciples had to let go of their fear and panic and grab ahold of Jesus.

Christ is worthy of our trust. He died and rose again as yet another sign to show you who He is. The King of King and Lord of Lords. What are you clinging to? Let go and yield to the Savior of your life and soul. He is above all and He is there, wherever you are. He is waiting.

A prayer for you – Lord God, for those who are gripped by a storm right now. Open their eyes so they can see you. In the midst of the suffering, evil and pain, you are there. Speak peace to them and may they receive the freedom and life you died to bring them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”