Tuesday, October 26, 2004
My plane had just landed in a Midwestern city during a record breaking cold spell, and the pilot welcomed us to the city with a temperature reading that made you want to divert the flight to Florida. At least I had checked the Weather Channel and I was able to anticipate that I was about to enter the ice age, so I had the appropriate coat, scarf, gloves and layers. As I was waiting for my suitcase in the baggage claim area, I heard someone yell, "Grab those pineapples." Excuse me? Sure enough, there were two couples just returning from Hawaii with beautiful live flowers around their necks, and they were wearing short sleeve shirts and carrying their box of fresh pineapples. When I hit the wind outside, I was cold but I was prepared. I can't imagine what happened to the Luau bunch! When they woke up that morning, they probably just said, "Well, I'll just dress for where I am." They were totally unprepared for where they were going!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Destination Blindness."
Jesus actually told about a man who was very prepared for where he was, but totally unprepared for where he was going. Maybe like you. Luke 12:16, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus told this parable, "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do, I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods and I'll say to myself you have many good things laid up for many years, take life easy, eat, drink and be merry.' But God said to him, 'You fool, this very night your life will be demanded from you, then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'"
Here's a man who was really dressed for where he was. He had it all. He had his earth security well planned out. But he forgot about planning most of his future - which would be in eternity. He was totally unprepared to meet God. It's easy to make that fatal mistake, isn't it? Taking care of your business, your family, your retirement, but neglecting your eternal destination. Someday your heart will beat for the last time, and in that unpredictable moment eternity will begin for you. And at that point it won't matter what your title was, or your income, or your religion, or your achievements. All that's going to matter is whether or not you have a personal relationship with God; a relationship that can only be accessed through His Son, Jesus Christ. Why? Because none can make it to heaven with sin.
God's perfect, and He can't let sin in. God was supposed to run your life and mine, but over and over we've said, "No, I'll do it God." "I will," three times. This man that God called a fool said, "I will, I will, I will." Because of that, God is out of our reach, but we're not out of His.
God says, "This is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins," in the most incredible act of love you'll ever hear about. The God we defied sacrificed His one and only Son to carry our death penalty for the sin we did. And now your eternal destination - heaven or hell - depends totally on what you do with Jesus Christ.
I pray that this will be the day when you secure heaven by inviting Jesus Christ in to give you the eternal life that only He can give you. If you're not sure you're ready for eternity and you want to be, would you let me send you my booklet, Yours For Life, about beginning with Jesus Christ. Just let me know you want it.
Maybe you've been so focused on where you are now that you've neglected your forever. You're one heartbeat away from eternity. It's time you got ready for where you will be for a long, long time.