BE READY

By Max Lucado

“No one knows when that day or time will be, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.” Matthew 24:36

His message is unmistakable: He will return, but no one knows when. So be ready.

I was reminded of this not long ago when I boarded a plane. I walked down the aisle, found my seat, and sat down nest to a strange sight. The man seated next to me was in a robe and slippers. He was dressed for the living room, not for a journey. His seat was odd, too.

Whereas my seat was the cloth type you normally see, his was fine leather. “Imported,” he said, when he noticed I was looking. “Bought it in Argentina and put it on myself.”

That was only the beginning. His fold-down table was of mahogany. There was a portable TV installed next to the window. A tiny ceiling fan and globed light hung above us. I had never seen anything like it. My question was the obvious one, “Why did you spend so much time and expense on an airline seat?”

“I live here,” he explained, “I make my home on the plane.” Incredible. The man made a home out of a mode of transportation. He made a residence out of a journey. Hard to believe? You think I’m stretching the truth? Well, maybe I haven’t seen such foolishness in a plane, but I have in life. And so have you.

You’ve seen people treat this world like it was a permanent home. It’s not. You’ve seen people pour time and energy into life like it will last forever. It won’t. You’ve seen people so proud of what they have done, that they hope they will never have to leave—they will. We all will. We are in transit. Someday the plane will stop and the deboarding will begin. Wise are those who are ready when the pilot says get off.

I don’t know much, but I do know how to travel. Carry little. Eat light. Take a nap. And get off when you reach the city.

From: And the Angels Were Silent By Max Lucado

Used by permission