Are you ready for the future?

Well, here we are, we have just celebrated Christmas, the birth of Christ, which is one of the greatest events in the history of mankind. It is an event that has affected the whole world in one way or another. As I think about this today, I think of other events that have affected mankind and the place they play in God?s eternal plan for man, who is the masterpiece of God?s creation.

Event No. 1 was when God created the heavens and the earth and then created man and set him in the Garden of Eden. Event No. 2 was when God, because of the wickedness of man, brought about the flood which destroyed all living creatures on the face of the earth with the exception of Noah and his family and all the creatures that he had taken into the ark with him. He was saved from the flood because he was a righteous man and he found grace in the sight of the Lord.

Event No. 3 was when Christ was born into this world, the only begotten Son of God entered into this world being born by the Virgin Mary. Born into this world in a stable with His cradle being a manger. It was an event that was not noticed by the people of the world except for some shepherds as God announced to them His birth. His birth did not make much of an impact on the world that day, but since then has affected the whole world in one way or another and will continue to do so throughout eternity. Event No. 4 was when He was taken and crucified on the cross of Calvary, the death which He suffered to pay the penalty for the sins of all of mankind. He was all man, yet He was all God, and that is why He could do that. That leads us up to event No. 5, which was when on Easter morning He arose from the dead, and He lives and was seen by over 500 people after His resurrection. Forty days later He ascended to Heaven with the promise that He would be coming back again to take all those who believe in Him and have accepted Him into their lives as their Lord and Savior to be with Him forever.

Event No. 6 is the one that is still to come, and that is the one where Jesus Christ comes back to get His people and to take them to be with Him. All of these events that have happened were told before time by God that they would be, and they came about just as He said they would. The next event will come about just as God has said it will. As we look back at this series of events and as we have just celebrated one of them, are we (you and I) ready for the next? We give many gifts at Christmas, which is good, but the greatest gift of Christmas is to have an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We speak about making sure for the future; the greatest way is to have Him in our lives as Lord and Savior.