February 27, 2021 Bible Reading
February 27, 2021
I Wish We’d All Been Ready
When I was a young, I loved contemporary Christian music. When I got Amazon music at Christmastime, I was ecstatic to learn that many of my favorite old songs could be streamed on this service. As I heard them, I was once again a young guy at a concert singing along at the top of my lungs. Memories!!!
However, as much as I loved this music, there was one song that I could not stand. Whenever this popular song came on, I rushed to turn it off.
What was it? Larry Norman’s “I Wish We’d All Been Ready.” Even when D.C. Talk (my all-time favorite group) remade it, I still hated it and skipped it.
Why? Because it was so sad!!!!
I hated the image of two people living life together and one going to Heaven while the other was left behind.
As a teenager, I wanted to be happy. I didn’t want this sad song disturbing my jam. Even though I knew it was true, I didn’t want to think about it. It was just too disturbing.
Even today when I hear this song, it still makes me sad. Because the truth is that it is sad.
But it’s also true. Sometimes I wonder if this is why so many people today don’t talk about Heaven and Hell— it’s too sad, too scary, too true. If we really thought about it…if we really believed it….it would interrupt our lives.
Maybe that’s why so many Christians don’t want to face the facts that:
1. Heaven and Hell are real places and everyone will go to one or the other when they die.
2. All roads do not lead to Heaven; all religions are not equal. The only way to get to Heaven is by accepting Jesus as your personal Savior.
3. Eternity is forever. There is no time to change your mind after you die.
4. Someday Jesus will rapture His church. If you don’t have a personal relationship with Him, you’ll be left behind.
It worries me that these truths aren’t being talked about enough in today’s church. If we really let it sink in, it would change the way we approach life. If there really is a Heaven and a Hell, and real people—-friends, neighbors, co-workers, could go to Hell—it should change us and motivate us to tell people about Jesus.
Memory Verse: Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. (Luke 17:33, NIV)
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.