The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 2 Peter 3:9-10
Last week I was in a building when a fire alarm sounded. Without a second thought, I stood up and headed for the exit. On my way out I noticed several people moving slowly and some not leaving at all. I wondered to myself, “why they were not evacuating“? Once outside people divided off into small groups. No one seemed alarmed.
I glanced up at the building, but I did not see smoke or flames. Beyond I heard the wail of fire trucks and soon two rolled up outside the building. Their red and white lights strobing over the brick front. Fire personnel began to prepare to enter. People were still strolling out of the building. The evacuees were talking. laughing and looking at their phones, they appeared to not notice the huge red trucks. It was as if the whole world was oblivious to the alarm. Birds chirped, cars drove by, and the wind ruffled my hair. People continued to mill about the parking lot. I looked at the building, I could still people in the windows. I turned to a group nearby and mentioned what I had seen. I questioned why people were not concerned when they heard the alarm.
One shrugged not taking his eyes from his phone screen, and said, “It’s another false alarm. It happens all the time.”
He turned back and continued scrolling through his phone. I focused on the building once again, but the reaction of the people puzzled me.
As it turned out it was a false alarm, I heard later something malfunctioned with a sensor.
But what if it had been real?
What would have happened if it was real, and those people got caught in the building? What if they waited too long and there was no way out?
As I drove home that day, I thought about the complacency of the people in the building. They had become numb to the alarm, barely noticing it and carrying on like nothing was going on. Carrying on life without a care.
I thought about us as Christians. We are complacent too. For over 50 years I have heard preachers tell us that Jesus is coming again. However, year after year passes. So, every day I, like many of you, go to work, feed the dog, plan vacations, and binge watch streaming TV. I do not live as though Christ’s return is imminent. I live like I have all the time in the world.
People talk about the “End Times”, the condition of the world and we say Jesus must be coming soon but do our lives reflect that we are anticipating his return? Do we share the Gospel to people? Do we strive to show Christ through actions, our speech and how we treat one another? Or do we carry on, numb to the signs, and fail to see the potential danger around us?
Paul in 2nd Peter tells us that God is patient. It is God’s Will that none should perish but all come to repentance. Every day that God tarries is another opportunity to reach out to people. Another day to tell someone that God loves them. Another day for you to examine your heart, to draw nearer to Jesus.
Another day that you can share Jesus’ love with someone you care about that has not accepted salvation.
There are people in my life that are so special to me, and I grieve that they are without Christ. I cannot afford to say, “I’ll do it tomorrow. I’ll send out that email invite tomorrow. I’ll go to church next weekend.” Today is the day because there will eventually not be a tomorrow.
The reality is that one day time will run out. It won’t be a false alarm.
Do you live as if today is the day he is coming? Or are you the folks in that building that have become complacent? Just another false alarm?
I have posed questions throughout this Seed, and you may be thinking, ok I got the point but what do I do with it? We need to live every day remembering it could be the last. Reach out to people in your life. Invite someone who doesn’t have family to dinner, help a neighbor with mowing the yard. Get involved in a small group and then invite others to join you. Take time to walk over to an elderly neighbor’s house, let someone in front of you in the grocery store and give hugs freely. There are so many things that you can do to open the door to share Jesus. Maybe you do something that gets someone softened up for someone else.
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 1 Corinthians 3:6 NIV
Don’t ignore the alarm.
Typist for Jesus
Mustard Seeds, Modern Parables 