acts of God

 

My editorial thoughts today relate to "warnings." Here in Southern California we frequently experience "acts of God" (as the insurance people call them) in the form of earthquakes. Those who reside in the mid-west portion of the country live with another form of disaster - tornados. Of course there are many other parts of the world that experience both of these phenomenons plus other types of disastrous events such as hurricanes, typhoons, floods etc.

What with modern technology, there's something now common to all of these events and that is "warnings." Even though they can't really predict the exact time that an earthquake will occur, scientists continually issue "warnings" about the "Big One" that's bound to happen at any time.

In borrowing the Boy Scout's motto, they warn us to "Be Prepared." Their advice for doing this is to store up fresh water, have food supplies adequate for several days and medical supplies stockpiled. To have generators and fuel to run them if possible. Plus, have flashlights and extra batteries on hand and lanterns available. We hear the phrase, the warning: "Be prepared for the worst."

I agree. This is good, prudent advise. Not only for us in earthquake territory, but people anywhere that a disaster in some form or fashion might occur. These are things that we should do and have in place should the "Big One" hit us. Having agreed with the above mentioned advice, I'd like to enlarge on the thought of "being prepared" for the rest of our editorial time and space today.

Yes, a lot of people do prepare for the "worst" to happen. But, the majority of people stop there. They don't "Prepare for the Best."

We're all familiar with the various sounds of warning, especially the siren. Well, there will come a day when a "siren," a horn will sound. However, it won't be announcing a disaster of some sort. Well, maybe in a way it will, but not to everyone. It will be the day that "the trumpet shall sound." (1Thess. 4:16 and 1Cor. 15:52).

That warning, that "trumpet" will announce the "day of the Lord" has arrived. In a manner of speaking I guess it can sort of be likened to an earthquake, IE: the exact time cannot be predicted, but we know it's coming.

And, you know what else the Bible says about the arrival of the Lord? No one is going to miss it. Rev. 1:7 tells us that "every eye shall see Him." That verse also says that many will "wail" at this occurrence. These will be the same ones we read about in Rev. 6:16 that want the "rocks to fall on them" and hide them from the face of God.

If you recall the words of Jesus in His sermon on the mount, the ones we read in Matt. 7:13-14, there's a precept or truth we can derive from them and that is: there are going to be a lot more people "not prepared" for this event than those who will be.

Going back to our original thoughts on "preparations" let's put this precept into context with our lesson here. In paraphrasing Christ's words in Matt. 7, there will be a lot of people who have diligently stockpiled the necessities for survival in the event of an earthquake. Have, with much concern for their safety and earthly well-being, prepared themselves for "the worst." These "preparers" of earthly things will outnumber the ones who "prepared" themselves for "the best."

I'm not making light of the need for us to make the necessary arrangements for our human needs should a disaster of some kind strike us. Christians are people of responsibility and should be "prepared" to "bear our own burdens" and also be the sort of persons to help "bear other's burdens" too. I'm just saying that we can "prepare" for worldly things and be totally "unprepared" for heavenly things.

I think that the greater majority of earthly society is more concerned with the "temporal things" of our earthly lives than with being concerned about the "spiritual things" that pertain to our eternal lives. Another way of saying it is, that most are concerned more about their "body's" welfare than they are about their "soul's" welfare.

I have no doubt that everyone will be startled when the "trumpet sounds." When the "siren" goes off. That most of the world will suddenly come to realize that, even though they might have been "prepared for the worst," they weren't "prepared for the best." But, there will be those, the minority, who have looked forward for this event to come and are "totally prepared."

Here's the bottom line: all of us fit into one of these two categories. Either we are "unprepared" for "the best" or we are "prepared." Will we view this event as a "day of disaster" or a "day of salvation?" And, it's up to each individual to know which category they fit into. And one more point I'd like to leave you with: the "day of the Lord" is also an "act of God."

Ron Covey