Nobody saw the excited bees coming out of the one-inch hole in the outside wall of the repair shop. But minutes later Mr. Johnson was horrified to see his elderly father lying face down on the driveway, covered with bees. The noise and vibration of his power lawn mower had disturbed the swarm of killer bees. The angry bees had attacked him, stinging him over 1,000 times. Mr. Johnson rushed to his father’s side to try to help him. Suddenly he was covered with bees too. They were in his ears, his nose, his mouth, stinging him again and again.
Fire fighters came and sprayed the bees with a fire retardant that allowed rescuers to drag the two men to an ambulance. But as they drove away, thousands of bees swarmed the ambulance, forcing the driver to pull off the road. Finally the ambulance was able to go on, and the Johnsons were hospitalized and later released.
These were extremely dangerous, aggressive bees that had worked their way as far north as Texas from South America. The residents of Georgetown, Texas, where the Johnsons lived, were frightened and concerned. There had been reports before about bees attacking people to the south of them, but now they had come farther north than they had ever been before. One person was quoted as saying, “Before, we thought, That’s not going to happen to us. We’re too far north.” But it had happened - the bees had come.
Many people will deny that something bad can happen to them; they live life as though they will be here forever. But we don’t know what tomorrow holds for us. Even death can come quickly and without warning. How important it is to be prepared ahead of time. Luke 12:16-2116And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:16‑21) tells the story of the man who was so rich he said he was going to tear down his barns and build bigger ones. Then the next part of his plan was to party for the rest of his life. But God told him, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.” The rich man was going to die that night, and then all those riches wouldn’t be worth a thing to him. All that would matter was whether or not he was ready to meet God. “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:3636For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36)).
“A prudent [wise] man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished” (Proverbs 27:1212A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. (Proverbs 27:12)). You and I prepare for college, for vacation, for retirement, but what about eternity? Are you prepared for your future after death?
There’s another story, in Luke 16, about two men, a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. The rich man had an easier life, but after his death he found himself in hell and the poor man was in Abraham’s company, which to the Jews of that day would mean heaven. The rich man cried to Abraham, “Have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” Then later he begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s house to tell and warn his brothers “lest they also come into this place of torment.” But Abraham said, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” God has faithfully explained about these things in His Word, the Bible, and we need to be wise and make preparation.
If your life ended tonight, where would you spend eternity?
ML-09/17/1995