Signs of the End

          Soccer bags littered the field as the rain came down in torrents. I committed the worst faux pax a parent can commit, calling attention to myself, and forcing the end of an important tournament. The bolt of lightning striking the field just behind us and the fast approaching storm left me no choice. With the help of two men who believed their eyes, and my handheld lightning detector, we got the kids and fans to cars until the storm was over.

            My high-schooler was livid. “Mom, I didn’t even know you could run! Are you crazy? Did you ever think that you could be struck by lightning?” When I finally reached the safety of my car, I was attacked by an angry teenager, something almost as fierce as the storm.

             In our family, lightning is nothing to mess around with. My parents have had two different homes struck by lightning. My father was killed by lightning when he was fly fishing.             

            We have a sense of urgency to warn people of the danger and educate them about the safety precautions they can take. Lightning is deadly and too many people pay no attention to it.

             God warns of the end of the world, of a judgment that will touch every person. The question is whether we will live in eternal separation from God, or in heaven with the light of His presence. It will come swift and without warning, like the lightning bolt which killed my dad underneath a clear blue sky, from a storm twenty-some miles away.

             Everyone was concentrated on the soccer games. No one paid attention to the danous storm approaching, yet it was nothing compared to the end of the world. Peter says it will “come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar…” He says God does not want “anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

             Are you ready for the coming of the Son of Man and His lightning-swift judgment? Do you take risks to warn people as if their lives depended on it?

            Determine today to make your salvation and that of those around you a sure thing. Avoid distractions which draw you away from Him. Come to Jesus now. Don’t wait until the storm is upon you.