Mike’s Musings …
Deadlines!
This past Tuesday night, a “deadline” of 8:00 P.M. EST was set for Iran to comply with the demands of the United States or face immense military punishment. Iran evidently complied before that deadline arrived, for there have been no military reprisals from us since that deadline. Since the date passed, will the ceasefire last? Who knows? We’re not fortune tellers.
A few years ago, an “astrological scientist” predicted the “deadline” of all existence as we know it. Bible students placed no confidence in his prediction, knowing that Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” (Mark 13:31-32) The apostle Paul told us that “deadline” has been set (Acts 17:31), but God has not chosen to inform mankind of that time. Therefore, it behooves us all to be ready for His coming – ready NOW, not later!
All of us work with “deadlines” of one type or another. Wise ones work to meet those “deadlines” from the moment they are assigned the task, so they avoid all possibilities of not being able to meet the “deadlines” on time! Procrastinators don’t seem to care about “deadlines.” To them, it doesn’t really matter if readiness exists; they simply don’t care about such things!
Undoubtedly, souls have experienced the horrible feeling of fear when “deadlines” approach, and readiness is absent. How we long for just “five more minutes.” When doctors tell us, “There’s nothing more we can do,” how we long to postpone that “deadline” which we know is coming, but we don’t know the exact moment: we only know we want “five more minutes.” Will it not be the same for the unprepared when Judgment Day arrives? It comes in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye … and there will be no “five more minutes” for us to finish the preparation of the soul!
I muse on why man fears man-made deadlines and doesn’t prepare for God’s promised deadline – a time He has set but did not reveal to us because (perhaps) He knew how man procrastinates! May I remind you that the “dead” in “deadline” is literal if, for judgment, you are unprepared? 2 Thess. 1:7-9
