Pastor's Corner
SOME TIPS ABOUT TRIPS
Keith E. Murray, Pastor, Blanch Baptist Church
[This article was originally published in the Caswell Messenger on June 10th, 2020.]
As I write this, my wife and I are looking forward to departing tomorrow on a road-trip to my home-town, Indianapolis, for a week-long visit with my brother and his wife. Thus, when I started thinking about my devotional thoughts for this column, I readily fastened upon the theme of “trips”, both earthly journeys and more importantly, our Spiritual journey from this earth to our heavenly reward. Let’s compare the two:
Earthly trips are usually planned and scheduled in advance. If a road-trip is planned, we get the car ready, consult maps, etc. We make reservations (train, plane, hotel, rental car, etc.) We pack the things we think we will need for the trip. Even if the trip is for an urgent reason, we usually have at least some time to plan.
On the other hand…The Spiritual journey may easily “catch us off guard.” What we, if we believe the Bible, know for sure is that one of two things will definitely happen: our earthly DEATH or CHRIST’S RETURN, and what is commonly called “the RAPTURE”. In other words, we can know for certain…
We will die before the Lord returns: “It is appointed unto man once to die… (Hebrews 9:27), OR…
He will return before we die, and we will be taken to him: “Behold, I show you a mystery: we shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed. In a moment—in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump…. (I Corinthians 15:51-52). “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (I Thessalonians 4:17).
So, although we can be sure ONE of these two things WILL HAPPEN, we don’t know WHICH ONE, and perhaps more importantly, we don’t know WHEN. Jesus reminded his disciples of the uncertainty of our earthly lives in His parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21: read it when you can) and of the equal uncertainty of his coming: “But of that day or hour no one knows…except the Father in Heaven. In such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man (Jesus) cometh. Ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh. (Matthew 24:36 and 44; 25:13.)
So we see that it is virtually impossible to SCHEDULE our Spiritual “trip of a lifetime”. However, we can do some PREPARING. Earthly trips require preparation—which brings us to our next comparison…
The Spiritual trip requires preparation, too: preparation of a Spiritual nature. Although most people cannot know the day or the hour of their death, and we definitely cannot know for certainty the specific time of our Lord’s return and the rapture, we CAN PREPARE FOR BOTH! Here are a few “steps of preparation” for your “trip of a lifetime”:
Be absolutely sure of your final destination! Be absolutely sure of your salvation through your trust in Christ and His Blood—and you will likewise be sure of your destination: Heaven, not Hell. John 3:36 reminds us that “He that believeth (trusts) on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Paul exhorted the Corinthian believers, “Examine yourselves, to see if ye be in the faith.” (II Corinthians 13:5). Good advice! Secondly…
“Watch and pray.” (Mark 13:33). Many folks familiar with the Bible passages, “Ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.“ (already noted:
Matthew 25:13) and, “For (you) know perfectly that the day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night” (I Thessalonians 5:2) are often quick to assume, “Well, we really don’t know when He’s coming, so why worry about it or seek to be prepared?” What these people miss is that I Thessalonians 5:4 exhorts us, “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief.” (!) In other words, as already stated, we cannot SCHEDULE the eternal trip, but we need to be READY for it. Thirdly…
“Study to show thyself approved unto God…” (II Timothy 2:15). Get into the Bible. Study it—meditate on God’s Word. If your only time in the Word is on Sundays (and perhaps Wednesday nights), you cannot be adequately prepared for this life, let alone eternal life. Finally…
Be faithful in attending and supporting your local Bible-believing church. Even in this time of COVID-19, keep on supporting it. If you are not part of a local church, find one. And then be faithful to it.
To conclude, we return to the beginning of this article. My wife and I are excited about our scheduled trip to “Indy”. We are preparing for it. As believers, should be equally excited about the unscheduled, but certain, “trip of a lifetime”—the Eternal Journey yet to come. We should seek to be fully prepared for it. How about YOU?