Schools are out, summer has arrived and for many of you that means going on a vacation. A vacation is special time for people, especially families. So many fond memories to cherish for a lifetime. But I think it is fair to say the best vacations are those that are well planned, even though this process is very time-consuming.
That is certainly so when one considers all the decisions that are made in the course of that planning. It really involves an extraordinary amount of time and focus. Think of the many decisions that you make in the course of its planning. What follows are but a few of the questions your planning will answer.
What will be the destination of our vacation? When do we plan on going there? Where do we want to stay once we arrive at our destination? How do we plan on getting there? If we are flying to our destination, what ground transportation arrangements are necessary? What attractions and amenities do we want to pre-arrange? What are we going to pack to take with us? What and where will we eat while we are there?
The amount of time spent contemplating these decisions and then making the appropriate arrangements is significant on a relative basis to the actual time one spends on the vacation! But it is so necessary, for failing to do so might have a disastrous outcome.
Imagine parents getting up one morning and informing the family that they are going on vacation and are leaving within a half hour. The children ask, “where are we going?” and the parents respond, “we don’t know, we will find out when we get there!” The children respond, “but what are we to pack?” and the parents respond, “Whatever you would like.”
Obviously, this is a far-fetched example to illustrate the absolute necessity to plan a vacation accordingly. And yet I find while virtually no one would be so foolish as not to plan for a family vacation; how many of us do little to no planning when it comes to the family going on a vacation of a lifetime?
Jesus Himself said, “Eye has not seen, ear has heard, nor has it dwelt upon humanity what God has in store for those who love Him.” Now that is vacation for an eternal lifetime! A lack of planning for this vacation destination could very well have a disastrous outcome that will last for all eternity.
If the dangers of a lack of planning for a one-week vacation are obvious to all of us, all the more obvious should be the dangers of a lack of planning to get each family member to arrive in heaven safely. And yet I see so many parents doing little, if anything, to ensure the latter. They act as though heaven is a foregone conclusion, irrespective of their life’s choices.
I believe one of two reasons has led many people to this error. Generally speaking people fall for one or the other.
The first of these reasons is the preponderance of relativism in our culture today. So many people have bought into the lie that objective truth does not exist. This despite Jesus Himself saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Truth is a person and He is our Way to Life everlasting!
The grave error of relativism has been taught by our institutions of learning for over a hundred years with devastating effects. Relativism denies the existence of moral rights and wrongs. With no moral rights or wrongs, conscience, sin, remorse, and contrition are supplanted. Once sin no longer exists in the minds of the adherents of relativism the need for a Savior is also superseded.
It is important to note that very few people are strict followers of relativism. However, the enemy does not require full compliance to introduce chaos and its adverse consequences into our culture. He has but to introduce confusion and discord upon his prey to disorient them. This disorientation’s purpose is to lead us away from God.
The second of these reasons is the widespread misunderstanding of what mercy is. Mercy is not license! Mercy is reconciled with and coexists intimately with Divine Justice. License is the freedom to do whatever you want without consequences. God is a God of Mercy not one of license!
Our life lessons should teach us that choices have consequences in our lives. Why would we believe that those same choices do not have consequences in the next life?
These two reasons render many people disillusioned or overly indulgent in satisfying the desires of the flesh. How then can we thoughtfully plan and prepare ourselves for a vacation of a lifetime if we are disillusioned or overly indulgent in satisfying our worldly desires?
If we devote so much of our time and energies planning for a one-week vacation, how can we expect a good outcome if we do not devote a considerable amount of time, focus and energy to planning for that vacation of a lifetime! Simply put and in all likelihood, if we do not adequately do so we will not be prepared to meet the Just Judge and Merciful Savior as we ought to be.
