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Recently, I was traveling south on I-69 in Indiana when I encountered a
traffic slowdown. In a few minutes I found out why we had slowed to a
crawl. There was a horrible accident on the northbound side and everyone
was slowing down to take a look. The accident involved two semis. One was
turned on its side with all of the glass gone from the tractor. The nose
of the other tractor was shoved in like an accordion. Immediately, I
prayed for the welfare of the drivers and the comfort of their families.
Their lives had been suddenly and unexpectedly changed. As the drivers
left the terminal for the highway, they did not know what awaited them on
the road ahead. The backup caused by the accident was five miles and was
still growing. Motorists caught in it had a certain timetable in their
mind to get to work or to get home from work, to get to a vacation
destination or to return home. But, they, too, did not know what awaited
them on the road ahead. Their timetable went out the window. They were
making good time when suddenly and unexpectedly they were forced to stop
and to wait, and wait, and wait.
Man
cannot see the future. Solomon wrote, “Do not boast about tomorrow. For
you do not know what a day may bring forth.” (Prov 27:1) The wise and
humble person will make plans accordingly. James admonished, “Come now,
you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow, we will go to such and such a city, and
spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do
not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that
appears for a little time and vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say,
‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’ |
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But as
it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.” (Js
4:13-16).
Yes, our future is subject to the will of the Lord who
sees the road ahead that we cannot see. God proved to Israel that He
knows the future. He told them of their coming destruction by a ruler
from the north (Assyria) so that when it happened they would say, “He is
right!” (Isa 10:5-6; 41:25-26). God foretold that, after He had carried
Israel to captivity in Assyria and Babylon, He would bring them home by
His shepherd Cyrus, a man who wasn’t even born when the prediction was
made (Isa 44:27-45:3).
Our realization that God sees the road ahead that we cannot see should
inspire us to trust Him. If we trust Him, we will let the wisdom of His
Word direct our lives- “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not
lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He
will make your paths straight.” (Prov 3:5-6). We will not worry about the
future, but will turn every care into a prayer, with the confidence that
He who looks ahead will provide what we need (Mt 6:25-34; Phil 4:6-7). We
will realize that, if we love Him, He will use even the tragedy and
suffering that may lie ahead on the road to accomplish His purpose in us-
to help us be conformed in our character to the image of His Son and to
get us home to glory in heaven (Rom 8:28-30).
Where is your
trust? In God who sees the road ahead or in yourself, you who cannot even
anticipate an accident or a traffic jam? |
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When I passed
by the exit following the end of the traffic jam (see pg 1) and saw cars
and trucks streaming along at 70 m.p.h., I thought, “I sure wish I could
warn them of the five mile back-up ahead so they could exit and try to
find an al-ternate route.” I can warn you about the things God tells us
are on the road ahead. But there is no escaping them. There is no
alternate route.
Death is on the road ahead of you.
God says, “It is appointed for men to die once.” (Heb 9:27) This is an
appointment we must all keep (unless we are alive at the coming of Jesus-
1 Thess 4:15). Jesus told the story of a rich farmer who made big plans
with no thought of this appointment. The farmer had more harvest than he
knew what to do with. He planned to tear down his barns and build bigger
ones and then sit back and enjoy life for many years to come. But, he
didn’t have many years left to live. In fact, God required his soul that
night (Lk 12:16-20). Are you living like your life on earth will be
forever or are you looking down the road?
Judgment is on the road ahead of you.
God adds to the sentence above, “It is appointed for men to die once and
after this comes judg-ment.” (Heb 9:27) John described a vision he
saw of this day, “And I saw the dead, the great and the small standing
before the throne, and the books were opened; and another book was opened,
which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which
were written in the books, according to their deeds.” (Rev 20:12) God
will pronounce sentence on you based on how you have |
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lived
and whether or not your name is in the book of life, His record of those
who have a relationship with Him.
Heaven or hell is on the road ahead of
you.
At the Judgment, Jesus will hand out to you either the sentence of eternal
life or eternal punishment (Mt 25:46). The eternal punishment is hell,
the torment of the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and
his angels (Mt 25:41; Mk 9:43-48). Eternal life is never-ending
fellowship with God and His Son in heaven, being honored as His children.
God will wipe away all the tears of earth life and its sorrows will never
be experienced again (Rom 8:19; Rev 21:1-4).
Death and judgment you cannot change, but
your eternal destination you will choose.
You will choose either to receive the wages of your sins (Rom 6:23) or
you will choose to have Jesus pay for them with His blood so that your
name can be added to the book of life. Believe in Jesus and confess Him as
your Lord (Rom 10:9-10) and repent of your sins and be baptized (Acts
2:38). Continue in the book of life by walking in the light as God is in
the light, confessing your sins so that the blood of Jesus will make you
pure. (1 Jn 1:5-10) Remember, no one will arrive at heaven by accident
and you must get there by the road less traveled (Mt 7:13-14).
Is heaven at
the end of the road you are traveling? |
