1 Corinthians 16:13:
“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men (and women), be strong.”
Presented as a Father’s Day gift a few years ago, my husband received a ticket to ride in a NASCAR race car with a professional driver at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina. We scheduled it on the calendar and with great anticipation we arrived to get him checked in for the big day. There was a group of men and women, my husband among them, who had signed up to ride with a professional driver for three laps, each lap a mile and a half in distance with a top speed of 170mph. Another group had signed up to drive the three laps by themselves up to 150 mph. Even as just a spectator, I learned a lot about racing cars from the spectacle that was about to be played out before me: a car used in NASCAR racing has a 700 plus horsepower engine and a six-gear competition gearbox with a manual clutch; a driver changes gears four times before even leaving pit road!
As we patiently waited for his turn, a voice on the loudspeaker made an announcement. Pointing to his right, the announcer said, “Will all those who have signed up to drive without the professional driver, please form a line over here.” He proceeded by pointing to his left, “Will all those who have never driven a stick shift please form a line over here.” As the full impact of the words seeped into our consciousness, my husband and I looked at each other in utter shock and disbelief and could hardly contain the horrified laughter as we watched four young men move to the left as instructed. The memory brings to mind a quote I read recently, “Stick shift is a Millennial anti-theft device.” Needless to say, these four young men had arrived for their big day totally unprepared!
Shortly thereafter, my husband’s group was called so we never did find out how those four young men managed on the racetrack that day, or if they even made it out of pit road! But it certainly is a classic example of what can happen when we are caught unprepared for life and it’s different challenges. The Bible, our “handbook for life,” gives us instruction on everything we need to know to be fully equipped and prepared for life, from birth to death. This is not an exhaustive list but a good summary:
• How to love God and put Him first
• Sharing the gospel
• Family relationships, marriage, and parenting
• Friendships
• Employment
• Serving in the church
• Loving and caring for others
• Bereavement and dying
It occurred to me that each of us is always preparing for something: a vacation, the holidays, a new job, a new week, a party, a project, taxes, to sell a house. We have witnessed in recent years how little time people have to prepare their homes and families with the proper supplies needed to weather a powerful seasonal storm, making sure they had stored enough water, batteries, food, gas, etc. I am sure all of us felt unprepared for the crisis in our nation, states and communities when the pandemic hit! How much more vital it is for us to have stored up the truths of the scriptures to prepare us ahead of time instead of waiting until we are in trouble or in a crisis to try to get equipped to handle it!
Reading the Bible also impresses upon us the importance of having our hearts prepared for whatever comes: to be on guard, watchful, to stand firm, be strong, be mindful, to stay awake. By doing so, our bodies, minds, and hearts will be ever watchful, in season and out of season, ready for whatever life throws at us and, more importantly, ready for the glorious appearing of Jesus, Who is coming again!
Dear Father in heaven, we praise You that You gave us Your Word that is powerful, alive and active, able to teach and instruct, to convict our hearts, to set us on a new path, to prepare us for whatever challenge or crisis may come our way. Give us a hunger and thirst to know You more and renew in our hearts a love for the instruction and precepts in Your handbook for life. In Your name we pray. Amen.
~ painting by Thomas Kinkade
