A hobo found an old oil lamp by the side of the railroad tracks. Picking it up, he pictured it lighting his way on a deep summer’s night past the stones and roots that lined the trails near the tracks.
He rubbed some dirt off, and, poof! Out came a genie. The genie intoned, “You have three wishes.”
“Golly,” the hobo said, looking around, then peering into the lamp. “I sure do want to know where you come from.” Poof! The hobo’s face brightened, and he nodded, a knowing smile on his face. “I would have hidden in there, too.”
“Your second wish?”
“Hey,” the hobo cried. “Give a man some time!” Poof! He was wearing a watch. “Not fair!”
“Your third wish?” The genie nodded his turbaned head as the hobo rubbed his jaw. “Anything life offers to any human, I can gift to you.”
The hobo snapped out, “Just give me what everybody else’s got coming to ’em.”
Poof! The hobo was lying in a coffin with a tax bill tacked to the top.
Death and taxes. These are the two things we are told no man can avoid in this life. However, there is a third thing that no man can avoid, the terrible and awesome Day of the Lord.
There are three questions about this day the Bible answers for us.
Question #1: Why must there be a Day of the Lord?
We find our answer in Ephesians 6:12. This verse tells us that the battlefield on this world is not one of body and bones, armor and armament. The forces waging war are spiritual ones, and they battle in heavenly places. We live in a present darkness where evil has been given free reign, but one day, either good or evil must triumph.
God our Father is the Supreme Being in this universe. His nature is to be merciful, but his patience with the evil one will one day wear thin.
Question #2: What can we expect on that terrible day?
When we look in Joel 2:28-32, we find that God will prepare humanity by pouring out his spirit on all flesh. Then God will display great wonders in the heavens and the earth. The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon will become blood. Blood and fire and columns of smoke will cover the face of the earth.
Those who refuse to cry out to him will find no escape in the devastation.
Question #3: How will any survive?
The answer is simple. Matthew 24:13 gives God’s simple plan. If we, as born-again Christians, endure to the end, we will be saved.
God is not a genie that tricks us when we come to him for help. Instead, he tells us exactly how we can be saved. It is through our faith that he helps us endure to the end.
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