Back in my high school days, I had some friends who convinced me to be a monitoring judge for a road rally. There was a course set throughout the county for contestants to decipher clues and then drive down certain roads ending up back at a designated place. The judges were strategically placed in secret spots recording which cars who were in the rally actually passed by them. This was set up into a point system from which the winners would be determined.
When the time came, I was driven to my spot which was a very remote road in the county. I was tucked away in a wooded area and was told to watch every car that drove by between certain times and simply record it on the official score pad. I was given final instructions to be very vigilant. It seemed easy enough.
The problem was that the cars that drove by that day on that lonely country road were few and far between. Due to that, I became very bored and began to become distracted. I could hear squirrels rustling in the leaves behind me. I noticed the sounds of birds piercing through the silence. I surmised that if I went and did a little exploring in the woods, I would still hear the sound of vehicles coming from a distance and would have time to make it back to my post to record them going by. So I temporarily abandoned my duty to check out the fascinating world of the woods.
When I was picked up and taken to the rally finish spot, the chief judge was taken aback by my nearly empty score sheet. After his inquiry as to why my page was virtually blank, I had to fess up. Apparently I had become so engrossed with the flora and fauna that I missed several cars going by. They had no recourse but to ignore my section of the contest. I was thoroughly embarrassed.
How many people today, I wonder, are distracted by the things of the world and will be totally unprepared when Jesus comes back? Make sure that you are ready – waiting and watching – every day for Jesus’ return. Peter reminds us that we are to be looking for, hastening, and even looking forward to the day Christ comes back (1 Pet. 3:11-14). Are you on the lookout?
Edd Sterchi
Broadway church of Christ
Campbellsville, KY