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Missing the Flight
Recently, I was at the airport waiting to board my flight. The next gate had repeatedly announced the last call to board that flight. Finally, they closed the gate. Five minutes later, a boisterous man appeared, running to the closed gate and yelling “Open the gate!” But it was too late. They do not make exceptions. The man was not ready, so he missed his flight to his desired destination. He knew what he was supposed to do and the consequences if he didn’t. Yet he still was not ready. There is something far greater than a plane for which we must be prepared — JUDGMENT!
There is a judgment coming and we must be prepared. In 1 Thessalonians 5.2, Paul writes “you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.” We don’t know when the judgment will occur, but we know it will occur.
The people at the airport gave everyone several warnings before closing the gate, yet they were not taken seriously by the man. God has given us an abundance of warnings. Do we take these warnings seriously or ignore them?
Paul further writes in 1 Thessalonians 5.3 that many will be saying “‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.” Will we be found unprepared and unable to escape? Or will we be prepared and ready?
There will be no excuses! Jesus sacrificed His life on the cross for our sins and God has warned us about judgment. We must be ready!
Not only must we be ready, we must help others be ready as well.
We help others be prepared by reminding and encouraging the brethren. In 1 Thessalonians 5.9-10, Paul states “God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.” What should we do with this reminder? Paul says in verse 11 to “encourage one another and build up one another.” We must be ready for the judgment; but we also must be reminding and encouraging the brethren to be ready and prepared.
We help others be prepared by warning and preaching about the judgment. Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5.14, urges the brethren to “admonish the unruly.” There are people who will not know about judgment, or at least the whole truth about it. We must teach and preach to help others get prepared. That’s our responsibility.
Judgment is coming. We must be prepared and ready, for it will come “like a thief in the night.” Let’s help others be prepared by reminding and encouraging brethren and by warning and teaching the lost. Are you prepared? As Dee Bowman used to proclaim, “If you missed heaven, you missed it all!”
