Luke 17:31-33
On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot's wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
Mount Merapi, located in the island of Java, erupted a few days ago. On 25 October 2010 the Indonesian government raised the alert for Mount Merapi to its highest level and warned villagers in threatened areas to move to safer ground. People living within a 10 kilometres zone were told to evacuate. The following day, the volcano erupted and people who chose to stay behind were killed. Even a 2-month old baby was found dead.
The current eruptions are intermittent and as I watched the news, volunteers were lamenting how difficult it was to get evacuees to stay in the safe area, because many just wanted to go home to tend to their crops and ensure their houses are safe. Many were apparently going back in the day to their homes and return back to the evacuation centre for the night as refuge. I was really stunned that even the evidence of people being killed by the eruptions, did nothing to make people realise the danger and to treasure their lives even more.
When you read up about Merapi, the information states that it is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia and apart from the large eruptions centuries apart, small eruptions occur every two to three years. Somehow, the villagers who live in it's shadows have gotten so used to the many small eruptions and frequent tremors that they aren't concerned and even immune to the volcanic alerts.
The villagers who live in the vicinity of Merapi only have their farms and lifestock to make a living. Without them, they have nothing to survive on. But faced with the possibility of death versus a chance to look after the future, they choose the dangerous route to secure something for their future. How silly it may seem because if they should die as they go back into the danger zone, they don't even have a future!
What about us? Have we gotten immune to the frequent rumbling of the end times such that we live each day worrying about our day-to-day matters? Are we so engrossed in living life or busy securing our future and doing all we can to achieve our life's aspirations that we neglect to heed the warning signs to stay pure, live blamelessly and be dedicated to the cause of God.
Just as the warning signs of Mount Merapi were given weeks before its eruption, the same warning signs of Christ coming back has been echoed. The end is definite, the only unsure thing we all have in common is the actual day and time. Meanwhile, make a forced effort to be found ready for the rapture. The chinese have a phrase to describe us when we refuse to face up to the stark reality until it is too late - 不见棺材不落泪.
Time to pick up steam in our journey of life. Spend more time to move forward to be ready for rapture. Mentor, impart, pray, exercise any required spiritual discipline required to put the old self at bay. Move on from the things that bog you down and look ahead to eternity as the end goal of all we do in life.
M.
