All of a sudden, the news is filled with some of the most ominous words in the English language - earthquake...tsunami...meltdown. It's disturbing.
As I grieve and pray for the traumatized people of Japan, I can't help but think what a precarious planet we live on. Some tectonic plates move a relatively few feet and a chunk of our world convulses for a few seconds. A nation moves, the earth's axis shifts and the landscape changes forever. Those convulsions spawn a monstrous wall of water that erases towns and sweeps away everything in its path. And destructive tsunami waves race 5,000 miles across the Pacific and are felt in California and Oregon. All because of some sliding rock beneath the ocean.
On a normal day, we breeze through life, acting like we'll be here forever. Then comes the wakeup call of some trauma or tragedy that briefly snaps us out of our complacency. Life really is fragile. Eternity really is close. And I could be there in a moment.
Occasionally, I'll see one of those road signs with a five-word warning from the Bible: "Prepare to meet your God" (Amos 4:12). In Japan, the difference between life and death was the warning. And whether or not you got to high ground before the tsunami hit.
Every day on this planet, a "tsunami" called death sweeps 150,000 people into eternity - ready or not. Since it happens with one heart attack here and one traffic accident there, we don't see it on the news as we do the attack of that killer wave. But it's real...it's relentless...and it's moving my way. God clearly tells us what to expect: "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). "Judgment" - facing the penalty for a lifetime of marginalizing God and hijacking the running of our life from Him.
The tsunami warning of God has sounded. The warning is clear - "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). But the high ground is within reach - "...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord' (Romans 6:23). Jesus took on Himself the full fury of the tsunami of God's judgment for my sins when He died on the cross.. "He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross" (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus did what no religion on earth could do. He paid the death penalty for our sins. So we can be forgiven, clean - and ready for eternity, whenever and however it comes.
The high ground is on a hill with a cross on it. Millions of people have fled to that cross and found safety. And Jesus stands there today, lovingly extending His invitation: "Come to Me" (Matthew 11:28).
A precarious planet. A fragile life. An appointment with God. A way to be ready. It's a good day to run to Him.
If you would like to pursue a personal love-relationship with the God that Ron has written about here, visit Yours For Life or call 1-888-966-7325 (toll-free).