Like many people, I like to have Christmas at my house. It’s awesome because I don’t have to travel which is always dicey because I live in Indianapolis. All of our creature comforts are here - our own bed, fireplaces, fridge, our dogs, the list goes on. Add the packing, unpacking and hauling it all somewhere else and you can see why having Christmas at home is a high preference.
We have been told about the Rapture. If you are not certain about this I believe that a bumper sticker is a good introduction. It said, “In case of the Rapture, this car will be empty.” The Rapture refers to the prophecy that those who are alive when Jesus comes to the earth will be raised up and be with the Lord forever. (Matthew 24:31, 1 Thessolonians 4:17) Those who are saved know where they will go when they die. What if you went and you didn’t have to die to get there? Which would you choose- die and go to heaven, not die and go to heaven.
I want my brother Tim and Jesus and the Angels to come to my house for Rapture so I don’t have to die, rather than me going to the house of the Lord. I want to go to heaven, I just don’t like the commute. Death is a bad commute. I’m not scared of paradise, but I am scared of dying to get there. If I only knew when it was, when the Rapture was going to happen, it would be…I don’t know….reassuring? That’s not happening, the knowing in advance part:
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Matthew 24:36-41
My Great Cousin Mary had the best death I have heard of. She laid down for a nap and did not get up. I had a number of friends who died instantly in car accidents. I watched my brother die slowly and painfully from cancer. There are lots of ways to die and everyone will take one of them. Unless…the Rapture.
I have given some thought to this as I skim through Randy Alcorn’s book “Heaven.” Here is what I am pretty sure of- The Rapture happening while I am alive has the same potential as a winning lottery ticket for me. If no one knows when Jesus will return, then I am confident I should not place any bets that I might. I think that I am leaving this earth through the door of all before. In my business, we use the expression, “There are no free moves.” It means all choices have trade-offs. I am trading my death as someone who is saved for eternal salvation. Taking the step through the door I think is a part of what is called faith. Still, if there were a choice, I would have the Rapture at my house and I would make certain there was good food.