WRONG-WAY CRASH!

In the last several months we have had a number of accidents in the Dallas area caused by drivers entering the highway going the wrong way and driving right into the path of oncoming traffic. The results have been disastrous.

How does something like this happen? Were the drivers drunk or perhaps high on drugs? The answer is yes, in some cases, but there were also instances where the driver simply got confused or was preoccupied and made a wrong turn. They ended up on the highway they wanted but were going the wrong direction with terrible consequences.

Jesus left many signposts to assist us in understanding the significance of the times in which we are living. In a private meeting with the men that He had mentored, Jesus responded to their question, “What will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” (Matthew 24:3-51, Mark 13:1-37 and Luke 21:7-36.) I don’t intend to extensively review these passages but if it’s been a while since you read them, I suggest that you read one of them to refresh your memory. 

In Mark’s account of this incident, he uses phrases like “Do not be alarmed” and “Be on guard,” indicating that we are to be aware of what is happening — but not fearful. That’s the balance I want to achieve in my own life. I intend to be aware of what the prophetic signposts are in Scripture, aware of what is going on in our world, and yet have full confidence that my life and my future is safe in His hands!

The questioning of Jesus occurred as He was walking out of the temple in Jerusalem. In Mark 13:32-37 Jesus tells the disciples that no one knows the day or the hour of His coming. Only the Father has that knowledge. Jesus emphasizes this point by saying, “It’s imperative that you be alert and keep awake.”

The use of the words “Be on guard! Keep awake!” (verse 33) is speaking of a person who has been awakened out of slumber. I think this verse is speaking to a lot of us who have given little or no attention to the signs of the times and should Jesus come back with us in our present condition, we would be deeply embarrassed by the way we are living. Some of us are being shaken awake by the events going on around us and by the Holy Spirit’s opening our understanding of the times.

“Therefore stay awake.” Verse 35 speaks to our need to be fully awake during the night season. In the temple, during the night, the captain of the temple guard made his rounds on a regular basis and the guards had to rise at his approach and salute him. Any guard found asleep on duty was severely disciplined, or his garments were set on fire!

Can you imagine the shock of awakening and finding your clothing on fire? Talk about a rude awakening! You are deep in dreamland enjoying your dream and all of a sudden you are feeling pain. Then it dawns on you that the pain is not a part of your dream — you are actually hurting! The pain jerks you awake and you realize that not only do you feel pain but you smell smoke — the captain of the guard has taken a candle and set your pants on fire!

This was the seriousness of finding the guard asleep when he had been instructed to stay awake and alert. There is a message here for us about becoming so preoccupied and distracted that we end up on the right highway going the wrong direction. It’s going to be like awakening and finding our clothes on fire. Some of you reading this need a good shock to the system to get you awake and alert to the times. It may seem terrible to think of having your clothes set on fire but I’d rather that happened than to sleep through the coming of Christ.

Should you think that the Lord would never do that to you, you need to think again. “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives” (Hebrews 12:6, NKJV). God, as any father who loves his children, will chasten and train us by the use of pain or distress — that’s what scourge means. Our God is a good and loving Father!

In Luke 12 Jesus instructs the disciples not to be anxious about their lives. He teaches them that if God can clothe the flowers of the field, He will take care of His children. Then He makes the following statement, which I think captures the heart of how we should approach the end of the age: “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when He comes and knocks” (Luke 12:35-36, ESV). This is as clear an instruction as there is about being on the right side of the highway and flowing with the traffic.