the master of the house cometh, at even, or at
midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
Mark 13:35,36
We were reawakened by the sound of a car horn blaring in our driveway. It was Mama--the house I had grown up in was on fire! We lived less than a thousand feet from Mama; my husband took off barefooted up the gravel driveway to see if there was anything he could do. Other than to help push my step-father's pickup away from the blaze, he was as helpless as anyone.
Soon afterwards, I got there, with the children bundled in blankets in our car. All I could do was to gather Mama in my arms and persuade her to go to a neighbor's house where I held her and listened as she recounted how she awakened when lightning struck the house. When the phone went dead, she grabbed her purse and one dress as she and my step-father got out. The delayed arrival of the volunteer fire department was added to by the lack of water--the house was completely destroyed.
Physical reminders of decades were all gone. The piano I played for Daddy; the wooden dough bowl Mama made her wonderful biscuits in that she had inherited from her grandmother; the beautiful dresses Mama had made, antique furniture Daddy had acquired while he had his store--all of it was gone. Suddenly.
Several years ago, a mother and her 12-year old daughter stopped at a grocery store here in Nashville, to shop for the family. Apparently, the young lady wanted something for which her mother had no change, but one of them remembered there was a quarter in the car. The daughter started back out to the car to get it, but she never got there. The lives of that family and all who knew her were tragically burst asunder when that precious child with the beautiful name was shot and killed by the stray bullet of an uncaring gunman. Suddenly.
I was visiting in the home of a family friend one evening in 1996. It was only the two of us at the time; the rest were to arrive soon. She and I chatted as we started through the house, when, without warning, the lights went off. It was pitch black--I remember trying to see my hands. At first there was total silence. We would later learn the same thought had occurred to each of us: had we come into the house with an intruder already inside?
I made my way to an inside wall to follow it to where I last heard her voice. Then she called, "There's someone in the driveway with a flashlight coming to the house." We hadn't noticed a car when we drove up. There had been no sign of anyone being about the place. I could hear the concern in her voice and felt my own measure of fear as I turned and started down the hallway, feeling along the wall, to where I knew they kept protection, if only I could get to it in time! Seconds ticked by: the person bearing the flashlight stamped onto the porch and shoved against the door.
Neither of us made a sound as we each blindly navigated to a deeper part of the house. We could hear the person attempting to gain entry, and then we heard, "Mom?" Needless to say, we were vastly relieved to find it was friend and not foe, which was soon followed by the explanation of why we hadn't seen her son's car. He had left work early; when he found no one home yet, he parked under the trees, listening to his radio as he waited for us. Our fear of not knowing who was advancing toward the house had been matched by his when he saw the lights go off and we didn't answer his call, which we had not heard.
I realized how quickly all of this had unfolded. Neither the weather nor anything else had forewarned us that the lights would go out. The thought stood out in my mind that this was just how Our Lord was going to come for us: Suddenly.
For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things. Mark 13:22-23. Jesus, Himself, warned us of the things that would take place as the time for His return got close. Let's read on:
For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. Mark 13:34-37.
Yet, there are those things that come upon us unexpectedly, such as that innocent child's death, and the thousands of others that occur, worldwide each year. Those things are truly without warning--we know things such as this happen, the suddenness of it is when it happens to us or those we know and love.
When folks leave their homes in the morning, it's to tend to the business of the day, not to meet death. It's the next heartbeat, or lack thereof, that we need to be concerned about. Certainly, I eagerly await the return of My Lord Jesus Christ, but I may go by way of the grave first. Am I prepared to make that journey? Are my loved ones prepared? Have they accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior? Are their names recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life? What are we willing to do to make sure of it? Whine and moan and groan, or fast and pray until it happens?
I encounter Hell's lie every day: "You have to wait until they're ready." This is how Peter described the devil, the enemy of our souls: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. I Peter 5:8.
He's not deceiving just those who haven't accepted Christ as their Savior, either. He's leading Christians down the path of "You have to wait until they're ready." I've got news for you--many of them are going to die first, because the devil has them blinded to their need of God. But if you are willing to do what it takes, if your "Want To" is big enough, you will quit waiting for things to go your way, get out of God's way, and let God have His Way.
Then, and only then, any suddenness that comes upon that eternal soul won't mean eternal separation from God and loved ones. Let me assure you of this: if you will devote yourself to dedicated prayer for the lost souls of those you love, you won't have to worry about waiting for them to get ready: God will get them ready to listen to Him, to cry out to Him.
You know why we're not willing to do it that way? We don't want to turn them over to God--He might not do it the way we want Him to. We are unwilling to trust God with knowing how best to deal with our loved ones! Our lost loved ones don't know what we know. All they know is what is immediately before them! So we stay in the way, God doesn't have His Way, and they lose their way! The condition the world is in today is because we have insisted on being in control. Our control doesn't work! Our way is not God's way. My friends, what will it take? We cannot afford for Suddenly to catch us or our loved ones unprepared to meet eternity!
"Suddenly" Copyright © 1998 by Patricia Sikes.
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