In this passage, we hear the Lord talking to His people, just like He is talking to us today. My brother, my sister, are you really prepared to meet Jesus?
You see, no matter how God warned His people through famine, drought, locusts, plagues, wars, etc. they still ignored Him. Now, you may think: I am not ignoring Him since I go to church, do my prayers and read the Bible. Yes, that’s good. But do you do what He tells you to do? You can be doing everything right, but if you do not do things according to His will, but follow your own will, you are ignoring Him anyway. Today’s passage show us that the Israelites didn’t get the message, which made God to send them things that would drag their attention, but still they did not return to Him. How many plagues would you wait God to send your way before you truly return to Him? Pharaoh had waited until the tenth plague, before deciding to let God’s people go, and even after that, he ran after them, only to see his men die in the sea that saved the children of God. Unfortunately, many believers do the same every day: they don’t want to let go of hat is displeasing to Go and when they do, they go back running to it at some point of time. Of course, Jesus offered us a new covenant, and God does no longer send us such plagues, because we now have direct access to forgiveness owing to the sacrifice of the cross.
However, we should never forget that we will individually meet with God in the day of judgment. No longer would we ignore Him then. We would have to face Jesus for rejecting Him or His teachings. Yes, my friend, one day soon, because Jesus is returning soon, each of us will meet God face to face to give an account for what we have done or refused to do. The Bible says, “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” (2 Peter 3:10). This reminds me the story of an old lady who was preparing to die every single day and people thought she was weird and mad: every morning, she would thank the Lord for allowing her to spend the night, to still be alive, but she would also say goodbye to her children, saying ‘if the Lord calls me back today, at least I would have had time to say goodbye to you.’ This may seem odd, certainly, but we can imagine that if she was thus preparing her house, she also was preparing herself to meet the Lord. Sometimes we live as if we are eternal on earth. No, my friend, eternity is after life on earth! Therefore, if you realize that God may call you to Him at any time, you must make sure that your life is tidy today: “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming” (2 Peter 3:11-12). My friend, once you are no longer of this world, there is nothing you or your loved ones can do for your salvation. So, are you prepared to meet the Lord ? May this question always be at the back of your mind to urge you to live according to His Word, and avoid the judgment of God.Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.