Is Your House in Order?
Is Your House in Order?
In 2 Kings 20 we read the account of an unusual event in the life of good king Hezekiah. With the prophet Isaiah at his side, Hezekiah had worked hard to turn the nation of Judah back to Jehovah. One day Hezekiah became very ill. Isaiah was sent to him with a message from God: “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die.’ ” In answer to the king’s fervent prayer, God delayed his death and extended his life for another 15 years.
The part of this story to which we wish to call attention is the instruction by Isaiah for Hezekiah to set his house in order. Things needed to be attended to; arrangements had to be made.
We have witnessed instances where someone was made aware that he or she had only a short time to live, and they immediately began to make arrangements to prepare for their death. Financial matters were attended to. Funeral services and burial were planned. Perhaps even attempts were made to mend some strained personal relationships. The point is, things were being set in order.
There is nothing wrong with carefully planning for the disposition of material matters after our death. In fact, such is prudent, and is one of the ways that we "provide for our own." And yet, we should be infinitely more concerned with what preparations we have made in the spiritual realm. In view of the fact that none of us knows when our life will end, it is imperative that we give thought here and now to the state of our “house.” What things would you want to change, if you should discover that you have only a few days to live? Would you feel that you had things set in order spiritually? Or would you want to make some major changes in your life?
Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25 is designed to make us realize the importance of being prepared for the end of life and the judgment to follow. How tragic the plight of the five foolish virgins. Having desperately tried in vain to make last-minute preparations, they stood knocking on a closed door. From within came the bridegroom’s reply, “Verily I say unto you, I know you not.” It was too late!
As He did to king Hezekiah, the Lord is saying to you and me:
“Set your house in order, for you shall die.”
- Leonard White
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When GOD wanted to create fish, He spoke to the sea.
When GOD wanted to create trees, He spoke to the earth.
But when GOD wanted to create man, He looked to Himself.
If you take a fish out of the water, it will die;
if you remove a tree from the soil, it will die.
Likewise, when man is separated from God, he dies.
We were created to live connected to God.
- Author unknown
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