Monday, December 3, 2001
"Office of Homeland Security" - the fact that America needs one pretty much tells the story of the kind of world we're in now. There are gloves in many company mail rooms, troops and added security checks in our airports, tours are curtailed at many public utilities, our bags are searched at sporting events, and business is booming at security companies.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Security Precautions."
Security is on a lot of our minds these days. At least, security for here and now. Unfortunately, we tend to neglect the largest security concerns of all - our security beyond this life, beyond our last heartbeat. It's eternally important to know that you're safe then. Whether it's the awful toll of the September 11, attacks or the death of someone in our personal world, there are constant reminders that eternity can come so quickly.
I once heard about a medieval king who was on his deathbed. He called for the jester, they called him the court fool back then, to come and make him feel better. At one point, the king said, "Fool, I am going on a long journey from which I will not return." The court fool asked if the king had made preparations for his journey, to which the king answered 'no'. The jester answered, "Then, sire, I fear that you are a greater fool than I."
That sounds like a conversation God had with a very rich man in our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 12, beginning in verse 19. The man is totally involved in managing his success, protecting his financial security. He says, "I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of 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 you will get what you have prepared for yourself'." Tragically, this man who had made such elaborate preparations for his earth-security had made no preparations for eternity.
That man made the mistake of thinking he had many years - a mistake many have made. Frankly, we never know how much longer we have. And you're not secure until you know that you're ready for eternity - which you can be today. 1 John 5, beginning in verse 11, tells us that "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life." Now that is security! Knowing for sure, knowing right now that you're going to heaven when you die.
And it all depends on whether you have Jesus. That's because He's the One who died to remove what will keep you out of heaven - your sin. When you commit yourself to Jesus, what's between you and God is gone and you "have eternal life"!