Put Your Boots On, Grab Your Cross

Good Monday morning! What would you do if you knew this week was your last on this earth? Well, that isn't quite a fair question though. Jesus knew that His crucifixion would take place on Friday, but He also knew that this would in fact not be His last week walking this land. At the beginning of the next week, Jesus would rise again on a fair Sunday morning to bless us with His resurrection. However, fair or not, what if you knew that this coming Friday would be 'it' as they say for you and for me. We have five days to make an impact for Christ, to store up some good deeds for the judgment, to earn a place in Heaven. Oops, what's with that last one? We know that part is not possible, though so many in the world believe that is what must happen. Imagine a mere 5 days to tear around like mad trying to earn a spot past the pearly gates, never knowing until the after whether you had managed to qualify or not. What a horrible thought.

In place of that mad running about, we would probably do much like our Lord Jesus did. Have dinner with our close friends and family, letting them know that we would not be with them much longer. Longing for the release from pain and suffering, but praying and caring for those we love to the very end. And from our Lord Jesus we would be able to pass on the assurance that soon we would be together again. Parting may be sweet sorrow, but only if we have the assurance of Christ in our lives to insure the sweetness. Unlike Jesus, you and I do not face a sure thing in the terrible agony of the cross. We may go quietly five days from now peacefully stepping into the eternal life with Jesus. Then again, we may be here 50 more years. God did not call us to carry the burden Jesus did in His final days.

Like the rich man in the parable, we may be called home tonight. God may also call any of us to fulfill the 120 years spoken of in Genesis 6:3 when God decided that His Spirit will not strive with man forever. That amount seems like a long time, unless you are 119. If you have two cats pickin' at each other, 120 years seems like a terribly long time no matter what age a person may be at the time. How was I to know that cat combat would be one of God's ways to teach me patience and endurance? My time has not yet come, so I continue to write the devotional. No matter how much time we have left, I think all of us would want to go with our boots on as Jesus did. Spreading the good news of Christ in whatever way God has called us right up to that final moment on this earth.

Put your boots on, grab your cross, and let's go!
Bucky