"Life Comes At You Fast"

By John Stallings

One of the most talked about commercials in years is the Nationwide insurance ad about having the right coverage,- “Life comes at you fast.”

When Nationwide introduced “Life Comes At You Fast” a few years back they operated in 23 local markets. After eight years, they’re now the #4 insurer throughout America, profits grew from $100 million to $2 billion and they became a Fortune 100 company.

In “Reflection,” the first TV spot to air, a young man is seen admiring his good looks in the bathroom mirror. After one last satisfied look, he opens his medicine cabinet to grab a hairbrush. When he closes the door, the reflection is no longer a handsome, 20-year-old, but an overweight, balding 55-year-old. As the baffled man continues to stare at his older reflection, the voice over states, “Life comes at you fast. Plan your retirement with Nationwide.”

In keeping with its unique campaign, Nationwide ads use humor to make an important point: Life Comes at You Fast – often before you realize it. Whether it’s getting married, having a child, buying a new home, or saving for college or retirement, advance preparation is key, especially when it comes to insurance and financial planning.

They couldn’t have said it better. Life does have a way of “coming at us fast.”

A dramatic example of how fast life comes was the death in 2006 of "Steve" Irwin "The Crocodile Hunter."Irwin was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist who achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted with his wife Terri. Together, the couple also co-owned and operated Australia Zoo, founded by Irwin's parents. Irwin died on 4 September 2006 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Terri has continued to operate Australia Zoo and raise two children.

I read that Irwin often spoke openly of his belief that he wouldn’t live to be forty. That didn’t surprise me, because many times I predicted he would die with his boots on but frankly I thought one of the Crocs he teased would finally kill him.His last words were; "I'm dying."

Some time back Ryan Dunn the guy who was in all the Jackass movies died behind the wheel of a high-powered sports car as it careened out of control near Philadelphia, killing him as well as a male passenger.The victims were burned beyond recognition.The car driven by Dunn who’d reportedly been drinking was traveling at 130 MPH when it struck a tree. Life came at these young men fast; life was over in their mid-thirties.

SULLY

Think about this picture, which I’m sure we all recognize! When Captain Sully Sullenberger ate his cereal January 15, 2009, he had no idea that things would turn out like they did that day. He hadn’t a clue when his passenger Jet lifted off the runway on a routine flight to Charlotte, that by the time he was wheels-up he’d only have seconds before his plane would be struck by birds and both engines would be knocked out rendering his plane unable to fly.

This gives a whole new meaning to –Life comes at you fast. Seconds…he only had seconds to make a decision and that decision was to land in the Hudson River within view of the New York skyline. Captain Sullenberger will go down in history as a hero because of his ability to stay calm and obviously think outside the box and do the unthinkable to save the lives of all souls aboard his plane. Who would think a plane could land in a river and some of the passengers could escape without even getting their feet wet?

In the New Testament book of James there are these challenging words,

“Come now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into
this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15).

Christians ought to consider all their plans as tentative, depending upon the will of God.

There is another emphasis in this passage of scripture, however, which I’d like to point out. It comes in the brief question, “What is your life?” James indicated the brevity of life by comparing it to a vapor which appears for a little while and then vanishes away. No doubt all of us have whiled away part of an afternoon, watching the beautiful white cumulus clouds that often appear in summertime.

As I recall such experiences I remember occasionally watching a cloud vanish into the blue of the sky as I watched its outer edges melt away. James suggested that life itself is much like such a cloud.
In the scriptures we also find life compared to the making of a journey. Such a figure suggests that there is a destination to be reached.

Similarly, life has been compared to water spilled on the ground, a disturbing figure because it implies futility and waste.

Again, life has been compared to a frail and fragile flower. This suggests that there is a period of growth, a period of maturity and finally a period of withering away. Life has been called a dream. It has been likened to a tale that is told. It has been compared to a hand breadth, suggesting its very limited dimensions. Actually, these are only a few of the many figures of speech relating to life which one finds in the scriptures.

Someone once summarized man's earthly life this way: "Man's life means tender teens, teachable twenties, tireless thirties, fiery forties, forceful fifties, serious sixties, sacred seventies, aching eighties, shortening breath, dead, the sod, then God."

LIFE CAME AT JOB FAST

I don’t think it possible to find a better example of the vicissitudes and unpredictability of life than Job. It’s almost an understatement to say life came at Job fast.

In his despair at one point he said,

My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,


And are spend without hope.


Oh remember that my life is a breath;


Mine eye shall no more see good.


The eye of him that seeth me shall behold me no more,


Thine eyes shall be upon me, but I shall not be.


As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away,


So he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more,


He shall return no more to his house,


Neither shall the place know him any more.” (Job. 7:6-10)

There are many things that can be lost in life. There’s….

The Loss of Those You Love

You may have lost a relative or a close friend either by death or by distance—either way you have lost them. They are no longer there. That is one kind of loss that is hard to bear.

The Loss of Things You Love

Another category is the loss of personal necessities or benefits—the loss of a job, a desire, a goal or a dream in life. The loss occurs and suddenly you know you will never realize the dream you have had in your heart.

We can learn from Job how to handle losses. He lost both people and things. I Look at the list of Job’s spiritual and material possessions.

Job was an incredible man of God, a man who was greatly respected.

He had a large family: seven sons and three daughters—10 children. Quite a “quiver” full .

He had abundant possessions—7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 oxen, 500 donkeys and servants by the dozen.

He had prestige. People knew and respected Job.The Bible says Job lost it all. He did not deserve it, but it happened. Job was a good man who trusted God, loved his family and treated people fair. Life’s circumstances and conditions came at Job fast and in a negative way—He lost everything. How did he respond? Listen…

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD.”

Life came at Job fast.

In all of this Job did not sin with his lips.” (Job 2:10). God has the right to bring the unpleasant as well as the pleasant. Without this concept, you and I will never be able to persevere through pressure.

Remember that our major goal in life is not to be happy or satisfied, but to glorify God. Paul said, “…to live is Christ.” (Philippians 1:19-26).

To understand Job’s mindset and action strategy to endure life’s fast changes, read, meditate on and apply Job’s counsel in Job 5:17-22. Job proclaims God’s righteous judgment in Job 23:8-14.

Neither shall the place know him any more.” (Job. 7:6-10)

LIFE COMES AT YOU FAST, WEIGH YOUR OPTIONS CAREFULLY.

An experience we’ve all had that will help to bring this truth home as good as any is a student doing their studies in school. The student leaves school in the afternoon with the knowledge that the next day he/she has an important test coming up. By the time they get home they realize they only have a few hours before bed time. In these precious hours they know they’ll have to eat supper, do whatever chores they have responsibility for and study. Life is coming fast and there’s seemingly never enough time. The student now has to make a decision. Will he spend part or all of his time watching T.V or retreat to their room and use those precious two or three hours in study?

The pastor who puts off getting his Sunday sermon until Saturday won’t be very effective. When I first started pastoring, my father gave me some good advice. He said, “Son, be sure to have a comfortable study stocked with good books, a comfortable chair and a desk.” He added, “Preachers who don’t have a study and don’t spend a lot of time there, soon won’t need a study, they’ll be unemployed.”

Life feels so arbitrary at times. None of us knows what is going to happen to us when we awaken in the morning. Will debris fall off the back of a truck, hit our vehicle and injure us? Will one of our children be grabbed by a stranger while playing outdoors? Will a doctor call and say there is a spot on the X-ray that needs more attention?

Each morning I pray that I have the wisdom and grace to handle whatever comes my way. Sometimes death seems as arbitrary as the person who draws the short stick.

Over the years I’ve lost several cousins to  heart attacks before they reached fifty. When people we know die before they get old, we wonder why. Death is easier to comprehend when one has lived a full life and dies at a ripe old age.

But when a child or an adult who is not yet of senior years dies, we question why these gentle souls were taken so soon. When one dies violently from the hands of another, it’s not unusual to question the sanity of our world.

While it is easy to focus on the downside of life's capricious nature, unpredictability works both ways. If we win the lottery, we don’t complain. In fact, we think life has been especially good to us whether we deserve it or not.

Rarely do we say, "Why me?" when the sun is shining (unless it is 98 degrees), or when our health is fine and our pantries are full. We accept our good fortune with grace and often for granted — as if we earned those blessings. But as soon as the tide changes, we start to whimper and question God.

IS THE RAPTURE STILL IMMINENT?

Here are some synonyms for “imminent:”

About to happen, looming, coming up, forthcoming, pending, impending, in the offing, on the cards, on the agenda, on the horizon, just round the corner, in the stars, in the pipeline, and at hand. The one antonym is; distant.

How do you feel about the recent failed Rapture prediction? The non-Christian world is having a field day. I have read several of the secular world’s comments, and they are obviously even more adamant in their opinion of us Christians; i.e. we are all ignorant and a few bricks shy of a load. Our elevator does not reach the top floor. We are not the sharpest knives in the drawer..

Many good Christian people are totally embarrassed, and will now shy away from even mentioning the Rapture to others. Why associate them selves with this obvious cult leader and suffer the ridicule? Is it any wonder that we, who know the Rapture is true and will happen, find it difficult in helping our own Christian brothers and sisters in Christ to see the reality that the Rapture will, in fact, happen, at God’s chosen time?

Actually, this is 89 year old Harold Camping’s third failed prediction, and I feel confident that he is now working on his fourth. Here’s the truth.

First or all, any Rapture-believing Christian knew for a fact that there would be no Rapture on Mr. Camping’s predicted date. Jesus said,

“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.”

(Mark 13:32-33) I don’t bet, but if I did, that would be the one day that I could bet that the Rapture would not occur, and I would win.

Camping is not the first to make failed predictions for the Rapture, and he won’t be the last. It is people like him, and so many others, that Satan has used to deceive mankind. I have no doubt that Satan is behind this whole charade, laughing hilariously at the confusion he has caused. Satan and his minions laugh. Sadly, for those without Christ, the laughter will be turned to tears when the Rapture does occur, and it will happen, at God’s chosen time.

The first thing that came to mind when Mr. Camping announced his Rapture prediction was the result we are now hearing, and also something Peter said,

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (2 Peter 3:3-4)

These two verses and the results from this charlatan, Mr. Camping, indicate to me that this too can be considered a sign of the last days preceding the return of Christ for His Church.

THE RAPTURE WILL COME AT THE WORLD WITH GREAT RAPIDITY.

In other words it will-“Come at us fast.”

When will the Rapture occur? I haven’t a clue, except it will happen when God is ready for it to happen. I will say this; God makes it clear that we cannot know the day or the hour, but I do believe we can know the season, and the season seems to be upon us. How long is the season? I don’t know. Are we at the beginning of the season, the middle, or near the end? Again, I don’t know. I do know that Jesus was very displeased with the Pharisees and Sadducees for not recognizing the signs of His first coming to earth. Does it not make sense that He expects us to recognize the signs He is showing us today of His near second coming and the Rapture preceding it?

“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:1-3)

I am aware of Jesus’ statement to the Apostles just prior to His ascension back to Heaven. “And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” (Acts 1:7)

Since Scripture cannot contradict itself, in comparing Matthew 16:1-3 with Acts 1:7, I don’t believe Jesus is saying we cannot recognize the signs He gives us, but He is saying that the Father has control of the times and seasons, and they are in His hands. Also, again, we cannot know the day or the hour. Further, when the season does arrive, He will show us the signs we need to know for that season, in order that we may know that we are in that season.

Therefore, what we have just witnessed simply strengthens my belief that our departure may be sooner than we think, because Jesus also said, “Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” (Luke 12:40)

The hour we are in would certainly qualify, since we and our Bridegroom are now the world’s laughing stock. No one would expect it. But, I must caution. How long is the hour in question? At what part of the hour are we? Only God Himself has those answers. We do not know, but we should be watching and be prepared. In the meantime, there is much work to do. As Paul would say,

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14)

Let us press on, and be looking up.

The Rapture is still imminent!

Blessings,

John