PATHWAY TO HIS PRESENCE
B.J. FUNK 

The side rear-view mirror of most cars has a statement on the passenger side that we should heed: Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. When I look out of that mirror, I see vehicles that seem to be a good distance back. But, in actuality, when I turn to look, they are closer than the mirror shows. I think there's a lesson in this.

Have you been blind-sided by a situation that you thought was so far away that you need not worry? Humans are very good at rationalizing. As long as we can think about it later, we will do just that: we will think about it later. This especially seems true in situations dealing with marriage, children and money. We often don't want to see the truth, so we look through a rear-view mirror that distorts. We don't deal with what is “back there,” thinking we have more time. However, the object in your mirror is closer than it appears!

How many marriages break up because no one will stop to look at the “up close” factors indicating dysfunction within the home? How many families overextend their spending habits and pretend more money will come from “somewhere?” How many children swim in a sea of turmoil, not knowing what to do with their lives because their parents assumed they had plenty of time to teach them right from wrong? Suddenly, these children are teenagers, moving in a world all their own, confused, insecure, and rebellious.

Now, let's get down to the meat of this message. You are going to die. We all will. Are you okay with the Lord, or have you been looking in the rear-view mirror, thinking you had all the time in the world to come to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you enjoy church, love gospel music, participate in every covered-dish event, and yet do not know Christ?

We all come into this world with an expiration date. We won't be here forever. In fact, we are just passing through. Heaven is our Home. Our real life begins there when we draw our last breath here.

Maybe you've heard this saying: going to church does not make you a Christian any more than going to Burger King makes you a hamburger. Each of us has to settle the biggest question we are ever faced: do you know the Lord here on this earth, and are you confident you will spend eternity with Him?

That object in your rear-view mirror – your death – may be closer than it appears. Are you ready? 

The Rev. B.J. Funk is associate pastor of Central UMC in Fitzgerald. Email her at bjfunk@bellsouth.net.

B.J. Funk

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