Pestilence Confronted: Foolish or Wise?

One of my favorite activities during this Covid pestilence has been playing a game of golf with friends. Somehow golf has been allowed, perhaps because it is an outdoor event. Recently, as my friends and I approached the very first hole to start our round of golf we observed a very troubling scene: paramedics were frantically trying to revive a middle age golfer who had collapsed at the very first tee area. It was obvious that the man was in serious risk of dying at a relatively young age. We stopped to pray but then were asked to begin our game and move on. We all remarked that this was a most unusual way to begin a game. I wondered: was this young man prepared to die? Were his worldly things in order? More importantly, were his eternal affairs in order? Did he know Jesus and God the Father?

Jesus told a sobering parable about preparedness and the kingdom of heaven. He said that the kingdom of heaven was like “ten virgins” preparing to attend a wedding feast but only five brought along oil for their lamps. These were the “wise” and prepared ones. The other five virgins who did not bring along oil, Jesus referred to as the “foolish” ones. When the feast began around midnight, the foolish virgins without oil were forced to go out and find oil for their lamps. The wise and prepared virgins went into the great feast, but the foolish ones missed the appointed time for them (Read Matthew 25: 1-13).

Was that dying golfer a wise or foolish man? During this Covid time many people are worried about their lives and those of their loved ones. We ought to be prepared to engage them in conversation with the reminder that we do not get to choose our ending with or without the Covid virus. Fortunately, Jesus is ready to receive us now into heaven, today before our end comes. Our job, as Christ’s ambassadors, is to be ready with our lamps burning and full of oil to bring the message of light and hope when the opening to share Jesus and his Gospel presents itself.

Blessings,
Jim

Global Prayer Points

As we seek to see our marketplace transformed by the Gospel, join us in prayer this week for the following requests from our Global Leadership. 

Africa: Pray for greater Kingdom impact through CBMC in Kasoa, Ghana and for our CBMC Nigeria brothers and sisters during this difficult time of unrest. Pray for the translation teams working on translating Operation Timothy into Portuguese and Arabic.

Asia/Pacific: Pray for the translation of Operation Timothy to Khmer, the language of Cambodia.

Europe: Specific prayer requests can be sent to [email protected]

Latin America: Pray for good follow-up from the Transcende 2020 virtual conference hosted last month by CBMC Mexico and the speakers from Latin America.
 
North America: Pray for establishing an e-CBMC (next generation) in North America Korean CBMC. Pray that Christian leaders would take the challenge to lead other leaders who need Jesus.

If you have a prayer request, please send an email to CBMC International.