"He that keepeth thee will not slumber."
    Psalm 121:3

Saturday night.

When I was a young boy, on Saturday nights, my mother would perform the weekly task of polishing the "good" shoes of each member of the family that would be worn to church on the following Sunday morning. 

I will never forget the image of seeing polished shoes, arranged in a row, ranging from the large shoes of my father to the high heels of my mother to the shoes of my brothers, and, finally, my little shoes.  There was order to the row of shoes.

No matter how busy the week, no matter what disastrous or happy events had occurred, and no matter how scuffed our shoes had become on the last Sunday, my mother never complained about polishing the shoes on Saturday night. 

Seeing the row of shoes reminded me that in the morning, there would be the celebration of Sunday by attending Sunday School and Church, as a family.

Preparations.

Preparations are made for every facet of life:

Children attend Elementary School, in preparation for Junior High School. Children attend High School, in preparation for college. Young adults attend college, in preparation for careers.

Employees make deposits into various forms of retirement systems, in preparation for entering the retirement phase of their lives.

Farmers till their fields, in preparation for planting.

Parents establish saving accounts, in preparation for a child's college tuition.

Lawyers review evidence, in preparation for trial.

Doctors review a patient's medical history, in preparation for surgery.

Preachers review scriptures, in preparation for presenting a sermon.

Builders review architectural plans, in preparation for constructing a house.

Even on the most basic level, people make preparations:

Appointments are made, in preparation for having lunch with a friend.

Arrangements are made to have a vehicle serviced, in preparation for a trip.

Clothes are selected, in preparation for the next day of work or school.

Looking far into the future, people make preparations for events that they anticipate will occur, such as retirement from a career.  Looking closer into the future, such as tomorrow, people make preparations for events that they anticipate will occur, such as a luncheon date.  

Before a New Year has even dawned, stores are filled with calendars for the next year.  People will buy these calendars, anticipating that a New Year will indeed dawn.  People will then plan each month, each week, and each day of the New Year.   Calendars will be marked with special occasions, such as birthdays of family members or anniversaries or vacations.

Despite either the elaborate or simple preparations that people make, events often occur that remove the outcome from the hands of the one making the preparations.   Preparations for a specific career are often changed, due to employment opportunities.   Preparations for a retirement fund are often changed, due to unexpected expenses.   Preparations for tomorrow's luncheon are often changed, due to personal emergencies.

In making preparations for our lives, there is really only one certainty: Death (excluding the potential of the return of Jesus Christ).

Sunday morning.

A career may last 30 years.  A marriage may last 50 years.  A person may see over 100 years of life.   In comparison to eternity, these years are as a blinking of the eye.

Considering that upon death, there are no more preparations to be made (i.e., there will be no careers, no retirement, no education, no luncheons, etc.), what preparations are important for eternity?

As my mother made preparations (shining the shoes) for Sunday morning on Saturday night, it is important that we make preparations for the moment when we stand before God.  The Sunday of all Sundays.

Matthew 25:12-13 prompts us to make preparations for Heaven:

"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom…..They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps….And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out."

On Sunday mornings, the row of shoes that had been polished and neatly arranged by my mother would slowly be depleted, as one person would grab their shoes and then another, until the last person retrieved their shoes and the row of shoes was gone.

Like the row of shoes that were slowly depleted, the longer we live, the more deaths we will ultimately see, until the time comes for us to meet God.

Are you prepared for Heaven?  

Like shoes that are polished and lamps that are filled with oil, we must prepare our path to Heaven.   Is it enough that we merely make it to Heaven?

In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus Christ told the parable of a man who gave varying amounts of talents to his servants.  One day, the man called forth his servants, in order to see how they had profited.   To those who had increased their initial amount of talents, the man proclaimed:

"Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." (verse 21)

One servant returned to the master with only the single talent that had been given to him:  There was no increase.  To this servant, the master stated:

"Though wicked and slothful servant…..Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness." (verses 26 and 30)

Is it enough that we make it to Heaven?  No, as we have been given the gift of salvation (talents), we are mandated to see that others also receive the gift of salvation.   Our preparations for Heaven are to include being a light to others, that others may also reach Heaven.

May the lives you've touched be as a row of shoes, polished and waiting for the glory of Sunday morning.

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Copyright © 2003 by Bruce Durbin