"He that keepeth thee
will not slumber."
Psalm 121:3
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 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).
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.
Copyright
© 2003 by Bruce Durbin
