The story is told of a married couple who enjoyed their luxury fishing
boat together, but it was the husband who was always behind the wheel
operating the boat. He was concerned about what might happen in an
emergency. So one day out on the lake he said to his wife, "Please take the
wheel, dear. Pretend that I am having a heart attack. You must get the
boat safely to shore." So she drove the boat to shore.
Later that evening, the wife walked into the living room where her
husband was watching television. She sat down next to him, switched the TV
channel, and said to him, "Please go into the kitchen, dear. Pretend I'm
having a heart attack. You must set the table, cook the dinner, and wash
the dishes."
It's not a very pleasant thing to pretend such a thing, but there are
some legitimate concerns we should have. I wouldn't consider it at all out
of place for an insurance salesman to ask the question, "If you were to have
a heart attack today, would your wife and children be taken care of?"
An even more important question, though, needs to be raised as we
consider our spiritual relationship with God. If I were to have a heart
attack tonight and die, would I be prepared to stand before the great
judgment seat of Christ? It's a legitimate question. When I was a
teenager, I thought that I would live forever. As I grow older, I become
more and more aware of the fact that each day is a blessing provided by God,
and I am not promised even one more.
"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such
a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'; whereas you do
not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a
vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." (James
4:13-14)
I know it requires a degree of seriousness that may make you a bit
uncomfortable, but just for a moment, pretend that you are having a heart
attack. Are you prepared for eternity?
Alan Smith
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