Don't Miss the Boat

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I decided to start reading the Bible to the girls each evening. I thought it would be good if I let them pick a topic that we could read about. I asked them what they'd like to hear about and they said--the end of the world. So we went to Mathew 24. Verses 36-39 really stuck out.

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

We talked about Noah and how life was seemingly normal for everyone besides he and his family. They were consumed with building the ark and preaching about the coming flood. They were watching and waiting for the end while everyone around them went on with life as usual. I'm sure Noah and family desired, with all their hearts, that people would heed their warnings; not only their friends and loved ones, but I'm sure they desperately cried for anyone to listen. They probably convinced people, only to have them become tired of waiting and slip back into peaceful unbelief. It's so nice to believe that life is all about having fun and feeling good or maybe so many troubles hit, mere survival is the foremost thing on someone's mind. It is easy to get caught up in doing that we neglect what really matters. It's easy to escape into so many things. You name it--we people use it as an escape from reality.

 So my 15-year-old said, "Are supposed to just be totally consumed with the end of the world?"

 I told her I didn't think so, but that we should be aware of it enough to allow it to somewhat shape our lives and decisions. Especially when it comes to our relationship with God. I think being aware that the end is near, is a sobering thought and has an effect on how we line up our priorities and look at life. It also gives us an urgency to see souls won.

I told them we don't want to be so caught up in our own lives that we "miss the boat".

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