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Several years ago, while pastoring a church in Ohio, I was working away in my study when a lady from our church knocked on the door. I could immediately tell that something was wrong. "Dan, don't you know? There is a fire in the house next door!" I looked out the window and sure enough, there was smoke everywhere. In fact, there was so much smoke that I could hardly see the house. As we talked, I came to realize that the house had been on fire for several minutes by that time. Smoke was actually seeping into the church. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the fire, but it did extensive damage to the house.
After the fire, I wondered why I did not notice sooner. My wife sometimes tells me that I'm not the most observant person in the world (which is true), but my office window looks in the direction of that house. How could I not notice the flames bursting through the roof and the imminent danger. Apparently, I was very focused on my work at the time.
As I reflected on this, it reminded me of the millions of people around the world, totally unaware of the danger that awaits them. If they continue on their current path, one day they will find themselves in a lost eternity. What do I mean by that? I mean that those who fail to embrace Jesus as the Savior of their souls will spend eternity separated from God. The danger that awaits them is the fires of hell (Matthew 13:41-42).
The Bible often speaks about the second coming of Christ as being a surprise. It will be unexpected and will catch people off guard when it happens. In Matthew 24, Jesus said:
36 "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into."
Let's say hypothetically that somehow, the family next door to the church knew that around lunchtime on March 15, 2012 (date of the fire) there would be a fire in their house. My guess is that in having that information, they would have been ready to put out or prevent the fire. Obviously, life doesn't work that way. There are probably lots of things that have happened in your life that you wish you could change. You wish you could go back in time and rewrite the script, so that the house fires of life could not do their damage. As nice as that sounds, we all know it's not possible.
What I can tell you with absolute confidence is that if you fail to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ and repent of your sins, danger is lurking at your doorstep. I say that because it is the clear teaching of the Bible, which is the Word of God. Right now, while you are still alive, you have an opportunity "to flee from the wrath to come" (Matthew 3:7). The danger signs are all around and it would be foolish to not take heed. At the last judgment, no one who rejected Christ will be able to claim they were not sufficiently warned of the danger.
The Bible says, "you do not know what tomorrow will bring" (James 4:14). Therefore, if you are wise, you will run to the refuge of Christ and believe in His name (1 John 3:23). God's invitation through Christ is to "Come, find rest for your weary soul," through power of the gospel (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus bore the wrath of God for the sins of all of His people through His body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24). If you have yet to embrace Jesus, it's not too late.
Run to the Savior, the One who is abounding in steadfast love and mercy, "for today is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).
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Daniel Stegeman, serves as Director of Pastoral Care with Fruitful Vine Ministry. Daniel has been a pastor for over 15 years and blogs at pastoral-theology.com. Daniel and his wife Stephane are the proud parents of four children.