One Saturday morning as I read the Book of Mark, chapter 13, Jesus foretold of things to come – the end times! My eyes caught what he said in Mark 13:17 & 18, "How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for mothers nursing their babies in those days. And pray that your flight will not be in winter." As I read this, I wondered what God had against pregnant women and nursing mothers... for as long as humanity was going to be on earth, women will get pregnant and have babies. There will be mothers nursing babies. It did not make sense, and I wondered why God would say such a thing...
As I sat in my room wondering about these scriptures, my thoughts drifted to imagining a pregnant woman. I thought of a woman's pregnancy advancing. I saw her walking, turning, bending to pick up things. Just going about her daily business. How difficult even the most routine tasks seemed carrying the child in her belly. I saw my wife pregnant with our two children and her difficulties during those pregnancies. If she was to be in danger of something, I imagined how swift she would be (or not) in sidestepping or outrunning that danger. Even if she wanted to, it wasn't as if she would be able to put aside her pregnancy, but would have to carry it and run!
Similarly, with a nursing mother... there is no bond as strong as that between a nursing mother and her child; even in the animal kingdom. Her attention, no matter what she was doing would always be on that baby. Paying attention to each need of the baby, her ears trained to pick up the baby's cry even when she's going about her daily chores.
The Holy Spirit raised the following questions to me, What are you pregnant with? What are you nursing? It kind of blew me away!! What was I pregnant with? What were the things that kept me away from God? What preoccupied my time and kept me from spending time with God? My selfish ambitions, lust for the world, pride for my job, my position or status in life, my family, family ties, my children, my abilities, my children's abilities, my intelligence, my race to accumulate wealth, my bank accounts, my house, my cars, my looks, my clothes, my efforts to control the world's perception of me – my image, what else? Mathew 6:21 teaches us, " Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be."
Again, these questions were raised in my mind: Where was God in my life? What place did he have in my life? Was I prepared for the afterlife if I should die this very moment? Did I have the assurance for my life that I was going to be with God when my life on earth ended?
The previous day during our Friday night prayer with a group of friends, a young man mentioned that there were folks who were predicting that Jesus' second coming would be in year 2012. Conversation turned to Nostradamus' predictions and the book - the Bible Code. These conversations flooded back into my mind as I was reading and pondering over the Book of Mark. As children of God, as Christians, should it matter when Jesus will come again? Rather, shouldn't the question be, if it was NOW, am I or are we ready? Whether it's this moment, tomorrow, 10 days from now or 10 years or a 100 years from now, the question will always remain, “Are you and I ready and prepared if the moment was right now?” Death is at our front door, whether we are young and strong, old and frail, rich or poor. The line between the conscious and the unconscious state, life and death, is just a stroke away!
This point was driven home to me in the year 2007 when a young 36 year old relative passed away in his sleep. He went to take a nap in the afternoon and never woke up. He was a vibrant young man full of life, hopes and dreams, newly married, with many plans on what he wanted to be and where he wanted to be - an ambitious young man. Another young man, an acquaintance, died in a construction accident within that same week. A freak crane accident at the construction site took his life. Death came without a moment's notice!
Are we ready to meet our maker? Are there things in our lives that preoccupy us and prevent us from being ready? Like a pregnant woman or a nursing mother are you nursing something that will become a burden that you would not be able to set aside?
The second part of the scripture that I quoted earlier from the book of Mark - "And pray that your flight will not be in winter" – became apparent to me the following Sunday morning as I walked in to attend the Sunday worship at our church. That weekend was one of the coldest in the city. The sidewalks were covered in sheets of ice. Myself and everyone else walking in to the church had to take baby steps navigating over and around the sheets of ice. Taking care not to slip and fall! When stepping out into the winter cold we have to prepare ourselves... wear long johns, dungarees, multiple layers of clothing, scarf, hat, gloves, thick socks and winter boots to keep the winter chill away. It takes time to prepare to step into the cold outside!The passage from book of Mark was a caution to not slip into the Winter of our faith life, a time when we will not be in a state of readiness to meet the Lord. When the Lord comes, there will be no time to get ready, for the Bible says in the same chapter, Mark 13, "no one knows the day or the hour of his coming – not angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows." He will come like the thief in the night. Don't be caught sleeping! Be alert and prayerful! Be in the summer of your christian life! The youth of your christian life! Prepared At All Times! Be prepared like the 5 virgins waiting for their bridegroom with oil in their lamps! Be prepared as Apostle Paul says... with the Whole Armor of God!
This is why, Mark 13:14 (NLT version), towards the end of the sentence warns, “ - reader pay attention!” It screams out to grab our attention! Verses 21-33 says, “21. And then if anyone tells you, “Look here is the Messiah or there he is, don't pay attention. 22. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform miraculous signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones. 23. Watch out! I have warned you! ... 31. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever. 32. “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. 33. And since you don't know when they will happen, stay alert and keep watch.”
As the Church of Christ, the children of God, let us not be in a state of pregnancy, pregnant with our selfish ambitions, nursing our worldly desires. Rather, let us be vigilant, watching and praying at all times that we will not be caught sleeping, in the winter of our christian life. The Old Testament events in the lives of King Jehoshaphat and Solomon are a testament to what I write here. Solomon from his life's experiences writes in Ecclesiastes,
- Ecclesiastes 11:9 – Young man, its wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.
- Ecclesiastes 12:1 – Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and no longer enjoy living.
Let me conclude with what Apostle John wrote in Revelations 16:15 – Take note: I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their robes ready so they will not need to walk naked and ashamed.
Don't let him find you sleeping!
Petra - Grave Robber
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