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By Dean Kelly

Minister, Highland Home Church of Christ

The word went forth: it was going to be below freezing much of the next few days. You better rush to your local dollar store/Walmart/grocery store and stock up on bread, milk, and for some reason, toilet paper, before all those panicky people buy it all up. Of course you’re not panicky, it’s those other crazy people who cause the problem and the shortages!

We do tend to overreact sometimes. On the other hand, we do need to be prepared for the things that might come, and especially for the things that will come.

For instance, if very cold weather is expected we should check to make sure our heater is working properly. If we use propane, check and see if there is enough in the tank. If we have outside animals, make sure they have available shelter and food, and we need to check their water supply to make sure it is not frozen.

Proper, well-thought-out preparation is very important, but especially in what really matters.

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgment,” Hebrews 9:27. We all have those appointments, and though we don’t know when they will come, we will keep them. We realize that we are only a heartbeat away from death, and that it can come anytime. We also realize that Christ will come as a “thief in the night”, with no warning. Those both will occur, and no one will escape them.  

Now, we should not overreact by just stopping living. Some in Thessalonica had done that when Paul had spoken of Jesus’ second coming (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), and he rebuked them for doing so (2 Thessalonians 3:11-12). We continue to live each day, always being ready for when death or the judgment comes. 

Don’t panic, don’t be paralyzed by fear: simply be ready. And the way to be ready is to meet Jesus at the cross, the ultimate place of safety for us.