What Can We Learn From Haiti, The Olympics, and Chile?

FINAL INSTALLMENT

The earthquake in Chile was reportedly 500 times more powerful than the one that hit Haiti...amazing!  It's hard for me to imagine what that must have felt like...the rolling of solid ground, the pitching and heaving of buildings, the unbridled fear and the incredible adrenaline rush as men, women and children fought to preserve their lives.  Sadly, hundreds of people lost that fight.  I hope they were prepared.

That is what I see in the midst of the tragedy...a reminder to always be prepared.  Not in a Boy Scout kind of way...fist aid kit, check; Swiss Army knife, check; canteen, check.  I'm not talking emergency preparedness; I'm talking eternal preparedness.  What does that look like, being eternally prepared? Prepared for what?  Prepared How?

Being eternally prepared means recognizing the eternal nature of life.  We are created with a physical body that will die one day.  Check the statistics...the death rate is right around 100%, right?  None of us is getting out of this life alive.  But in addition to the physical body, which will die, we also are created with a spiritual being, a soul, which is designed to live forever.  The Bible tells us there are two potential dwelling places for the soul once the body dies...hell which places us in eternal separation from God, and heaven which places us in eternal community with God.  There is a big difference between these two eternal destinations.  And we must prepare in this life for what we want in our eternal life.  We must get equipped for eternity.

How does one get eternally equipped?  Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6 NIV)  In other words, we need to have a relationship with Jesus.  Ask yourself this simple question: "do I have a relationship with Jesus?"  If the answer is "no" or "I don't know" then you are not prepared.  But you can be.  If you are not properly prepared email me at elevationchurchco@yahoo.com and we can get you equipped for eternity.  It might take some conversations, explanations, and even some careful consideration on your part before you are ready to make the commitment to follow Jesus.  I am prepared to answer, explain and give you space, time and resources so you can consider.

But I urge you to be prepared because you never know when the earthquake is coming.  You never know when the drunk driver is around the corner.  You never know when the virus will infect.  You never know when it will be too late.