So I’m driving to work down Cohansey Road. It’s 5:45 in the morning. It’s dark. Really dark. If you know anything about that road, it’s dark at night. No one behind me, I don’t see anyone ahead of me. “Who in their right mind would be doing anything but sleeping right now?” Over the hill ahead of me this car is coming toward me in the on-coming lane. As they approach, they flash their headlights at me, and I look at my dash to see if my high beams are on. Nope. I just give them a little high beam flash so they know they gotta deal with the lights the way they are. So they flash me again! OK! I let it go and they go past me. I wonder what that was all about. I crest over the next hill and AHHHHH!!!!!! There’s a BIG deer standing three feet from the white line looking at me like it owns the woods and I don’t. I’m on the brakes, swerve to the other side while honking the horn, do anything I can avoid that mess of dealing with the body shop and insurance. The deer never moved. All is good. Except for my pulse, but that got better.
The person in the on-coming car was trying to warn me of a possible life changing event. Ignore the warning, not be ready and I could have been looking for a new vehicle. Their flashing headlights were a warning.
As I got to work, I was thinking about what that person did, and it dawned on me about the messages that Jesus gave to people about the future things to come. Interestingly, those people would only transfer the message to future people. 2000 years later we tend to let those messages get lost in what we know. In Matthew 24 & 25 there are many warnings that Jesus gave us about His coming. He methodically gave us lessons that show different ways His coming could affect us.
With the fig tree. How do we see it’s near?
Noah was “flashing headlights” to everyone he came in contact with. Who survived?
The faithful and unfaithful servant. Who was rewarded?
The ten virgins. Who was ready?
In Matthew 24:42. “Watch.” And 44. “Be ready” is the theme.
You could think of these chapters as “constantly flashing headlights.”
I encourage you to take some time and read Matthew 24 & 25 and ask yourself ,“What is Jesus saying to me?”
Are we living the life that is “Ready?”
Are our lamps full of oil?
Are we on the Ark?”
—Brian Rainey
