1 Thessalonians 5:2 – “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of
the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.”
Ezekiel tells us that we are to be watchmen on the walls,
shouting out warnings of trouble to come.
We are to warn those within the city.
We know that the day of the Lord will come soon, yet we continue through
our lives in apathy and complacency. We
know what shape the world’s in, and we know what to do about it. Some say, “It’s too big a task – we can never
get it done.” So they do nothing.
I heard a story once about a young girl who lived in the
days when coal was burned for heat. As
she attempted to carry a ton of coal a shovelful at a time from the sidewalk to
a coal bin in the cellar, she was asked by an onlooker, “Do you expect to get
all that coal in with that little shovel?”
“Yes sir,” she answered, “if I work long enough.” That should be our response to those who ask
us, “There are so many to win – can you win enough?” We should answer, “Yes sir – if I work long
enough.”
But the task is large and daunting, and so many don’t take
it up. Many have become weak and
powerless. They can’t tell of His great
love, because they don’t have it in their heart. They neglect God’s Word and prayer. Many haven’t kept themselves free from
worldliness, so their garments have become spotted with the world. They have let sin creep in and make them
unfit for service. Many have neglected
the house of God where we get charged up through the preaching of the Word and
fellowship with fellow-believers. They
have forsaken the assembling of themselves together. Many have gotten caught up in themselves and
their own lives and don’t keep a watch for the souls of men, losing sight of
the fact that those souls are lost and bound for a devil’s hell.
My friend, we have the knowledge; we have the solution; we
have the command of God. Paul tells us
in verse 7 of the same chapter, “Therefore
let us not sleep, as do other; but let us watch and be sober.” This is the same admonition we get from
Ezekiel to be watchmen on the walls. Our
job is to warn those around us of the coming danger. Carry gospel tracts with you everywhere you
go, handing them out or just leaving them where others will find them. Always be ready to give a witness to everyone
you meet. Live in such a way that others
see Christ in you. But please, don’t
turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to those souls that are rushing headlong into an eternity without Christ. Time is short - Christ is coming soon - "as
a thief in the night."
