Today my nearest neighbor is having her fourth chemo treatment. Today, the friend for whom I am praying as we talk about the Lord and salvation is seeing a surgeon about a medical emergency. Today, the couple with whom we spent time very recently is deciding if they can make a go of a failing marriage. Today, a child I love is dealing with an illness that seems to be relentless. Today, a friend of 45 years is in a hospital room waiting to see if the diagnosis is a sudden stroke. All today. And all in my tiny little realm. And each woman reading has her own realm of suddenly negatively impacted todays.
But what do people who don’t have the Lord do with those kinds of todays? The question is, what do people do with today, when the prospect of tomorrow is not heaven?
The answer, of course, is that they often find the end of life in a suffering that is preparatory for a greater, even ultimate, eternal suffering. Every trial is eternity-prep. It is preparing us for heaven—fitting us for eternal rest and relief, or it is prepping us for damnation. The type of preparation depends on our reaction to the trial.
Look at this prep verse with me:
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)
Are you prepping for an eternal weight of glory?…a place where all of your tears will be wiped away? I can’t wait.
But there’s another preparation happening among the disobedient. Romans 9:22, in the context of those prepared for glory, also speaks of those prepared for destruction.
We live in a world in which we hear a lot about preparedness. Insurance companies, ecologists, politicians and emergency management teams all tout the importance of prepping for adverse eventualities that could happen. But hell is not something that could happen. It’s a happening place. Judgement day is not just a possibility. It is a definite appointment on your calendar. The prep is emergent.
Today. Today, there is still time to prepare.
Which of the two preparations have you chosen? One is purposeful. The other is often chosen by default.