Jesus Isn't Decaf (By Naomi Meyers)

At least once a year our family takes a road trip. These are not small events. We have been known to cover up to fourteen states at a time. The trips require meticulous planning and preparation. Miles to be“ driven each day. Attractions to visit. Nightly accommodations. Clothing for every possible event and circumstance. Things for the kids to do as they ride. Candy and beverages to keep me awake as I drive. Things for the sections of road not lined with billboards.  

I’m rather addicted to reading signs. Road signs. Church signs. Business signs. Billboards. The billboards always catch my eye. Yes, I know. That’s their purpose. I get it. It works. Although I rarely adhere to their words, or run out to purchase the advertised products, I do read the signs. Some make me shake my head. Some of them remind me to keep a check on my blood pressure–an interesting choice as I impatiently sit in traffic! Some tempt me to take the next exit for ice cream–an enticing option instead of sitting in traffic! Other signs are only good for comic relief. It matters not. Whatever they’re advertising, I’m reading.  

We recently embarked on one of our notorious road trips upon which I was again reading signs. In this particular city, apparently, you can find anything. A dentist claims the ability to give you a perfect smile, thus increasing your chances of attracting the perfect mate. A weight management specialist can get you from consultation to weight loss surgery in only two weeks. Money management companies and personal injury lawyers can help you gain and manage your funds. Hospitals, doctors, and medical companies want to remind you to take care of your heart, your diabetes, and your colon. Rehabilitation facilities remind you their services are available should you need them. All of the signs beg you to choose their services in an effort to enhance your current life and prepare you for a fabulous future.

The truth is, the signs might be encouraging you to do something good. I hope you do it. I hope you take care of yourself, let go of your vices, watch out for your health. I hope you are wise with your money, plan for the future, and buy life insurance. Most of all, I hope you already know and live by the lesson of the one billboard I read that was truly worth my time. The one that imprinted in my mind and put all the other billboards in perspective. The one that simply read, “Are you prepared to meet God?” 

It was tucked in the middle of all those signs encouraging folks to prepare for life. Enrich your wallet, your hair, your health, your body, your mind. It looked like another medical sign. A green line zigzagged across a dark background like the lines on a heart monitoring machine, the universal signal of life. Yet there, instead of another reminder to check your blood pressure, check your heart function, check for diabetes, were those all-important words, “Are you prepared to meet God?”

We rarely hear that question. We should hear it more. We should hear it from the pulpit, from our parents, from our friends. We should be asking it of one another. We should constantly be reminding our family, friends, neighbors, even strangers, that there is something more important than this old world for which we must be preparing. 

It is so easy to forget. Advertising has taken over our lives, swaying the way we think, behave, spend and save. We busy ourselves following all the things we see advertised on television, read in pamphlets at the doctor’s office, or see on a billboard while we sit in rush hour traffic. We follow the stock market like it’s our savior, carefully choosing when to invest or sell. We budget and save, throwing every unused penny into a savings account, hoping to ensure a comfortable retirement. We lose weight, do yoga, exercise, take handfuls of vitamins, diffuse essential oils, and follow the advice of every new health guru. That is all well and good. Maybe it will enhance your future. Maybe it will change your life. None of it will salvage your eternity. (I Timothy 4:8)

And right now is the time to do that. Prepare for eternity. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable of 10 virgins awaiting the bridegroom’s arrival so they could go in and partake of the marriage feast. They didn’t know when he would arrive. They had no idea he would be delayed. They only knew they wanted to be present and ready when he came. Five of them made meticulous preparations. They trimmed their lamps, filled them with oil so they could light the way should he come at night. Then they took up their post to wait. 

Not so the other five. They simply rushed out to stand in line. They wanted admission to the feast. They wanted to greet the bridegroom. Yet they made no preparations. Their lamps were haphazardly assembled. The wicks were ragged. The oil was low. They had put little to no effort into preparing for the wedding feast. It showed. 

 Day turned to night as the 10 waited for the bridegroom to come. They grew drowsy, dozed off. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, he arrived. They all jumped up and readied their lamps. But the five who had not prepared earlier found themselves without oil to burn, with no light for their way. They rushed off in hopes of replenishing their oil in time to slip in the door before it was closed. They didn’t make it. 

In desperation they banged on the door, begging entrance. The groom wasn’t having it. Their lack of preparation had shown him the place he held in their lives. Their knocking resulted in the response, “No admittance. I don’t know you.” If only they had filled their lamps and gathered extra oil before they left home. If only they had trimmed their wicks. If only their lamps had been brightly burning when the bridegroom arrived. But they weren’t. Instead of preparers, they were procrastinators. It didn’t work for them. (Matthew 25:1-13) 

It won’t work out for you either. You can’t wait until the last minute. You can’t waste your life chasing down the billboards and trends and preparations of the world when you should be preparing for Heaven. You can’t put your hope in a deathbed repentance. You have to prepare ahead of time. Right now. This is the time. Today is the day. You need to prepare for eternity now.  (Hebrews 3:15; II Corinthians 6:2)

And you need to do it every day of your life. You need to live every moment as if it is preparing you for entrance into Heaven, because it is. Every word needs to pass the test of acceptability before God. Every thought must be brought into obedience to Christ. Every action should imitate Jesus. Every part of your heart must be pure if you wish to enter Heaven and see God. The fact that you haven’t seen it advertised or plastered on a billboard makes it no less important. Does your life reflect your preparedness to meet God? (Psalm 19:14; II Corinthians 10:5; Ephesians 5:1-2; Matthew 5:8)

Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. A holy place. A place for those who take the time from their busy earthly schedule to prepare for Heaven. He wants you to be there. It’s your choice. You can choose to prepare solely for the things the world says you should and hope you have time to prepare for Heaven later. Or you can choose to prepare now. Seek God’s kingdom to reign in your heart and life. Trust Him to add the earthly things you need. Make Heavenly preparations and rest in the confident knowledge that you can affirmatively answer when asked, “Are you prepared to meet God?” (John 14:3; Matthew 6:33; I Corinthians 16:13; Romans 13:11-14)