Dear Logos Family,
“Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matt 24:44
I just returned with some friends from a three-night backpacking trip in the Olympic National Forest. The first day we hiked eight miles with forty-pound packs on our backs and camped next to a fast moving river. As we settled in for the evening a ranger came by our camp looking rather disturbed.
He asked to see our camping permit and he noticed that we had reserved spots at “Deer Lake” campground which was a grueling eight-mile hike away. Normally the rangers are rather lax about where you camp in the wilderness area as long as you have your permit. However, the ranger announced that on Monday (the next day), they were going to “close the Basin” to all day hikers and backpackers in order to “thin out” the goat herd on the mountain.
Evidently, the mountain goats are an invasive species and becoming overly populated in the park. We were told that they normally tranquilize the goats and move them to other places outside the park. But not this year.
The bottom line for us was we had to be at the Deer Lake campsite by the next day.
This was a great surprise to the man who planned the trip. He had originally planned to take two days to hike to Deer Lake so we weren’t so rushed and so fatigued by the steepest part of the eight-mile hike that included four thousand feet of vertical climbing! My sixty year-old joints and muscles started groaning when they heard the news! But we started hiking at daybreak and by 11:30am we had accomplished the steepest part of the climb. By 4:00pm we arrived at Deer Lake joints, muscles and toes still intact!
This episode reminded me that we must always “be ready.” Things don’t always go “as planned.” And when it comes to the Lord’s return, none of us knows the day or the hour when Jesus will return. We’re just called to “be ready.”
Are you ready for Jesus’ return or are you still getting your pack ready for the journey? Do you have any “unfinished business” that you need to tidy up before He returns? If so, you better get cracking!
Grace,
Pastor Bill