But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. A little boy was invited to dinner for the first time in his life. He would just be going to his next-door neighbor's house, but to him, this was a huge event. "See ya, Mom! See ya, Dad!" he hollered as he raced to the house next door. When they sat down at the table to eat, the boy, who was raised in a Christian home, bowed his head. "Lord, thank you for this food," he began to pray out loud. But nobody stopped; everyone kept passing food across the table. The little boy opened his eyes and asked, without a hint of embarrassment, "Don't you people thank God for your food?" After an awkward silence, the lady of the house said, "No, honey, we don't." The little fellow thought for a moment. "You know, you're like my dogs" he told them. "They just start right in." You and I can be like that, can't we? We can make $100,000 on a real estate deal, and not give God a penny. We can "start right in," carelessly feasting on the food before us, ignorant of God's graciousness to provide it. But when we lose $100,000, we're quick to cry out to God. When things go wrong, we look to Him with eyes of desperation. Why? Because instead of loving God, we think we can use Him. Instead of blessing God with our gifts, talents, finances -- you name it -- we expect God to bless us. We are self-focused. And we are deceived. The people of Noah's time were living the good life. They ate, they drank, and they partied. And that's not necessarily bad. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says that "whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." But the people were self-focused, not God-focused. They didn't eat and drink to celebrate God, but to satisfy themselves. When Noah warned of God's imminent judgment, a world-wide flood, they mocked him. "Oh come on, that's ridiculous!" they must have said, laughing. After all, it had never rained! They had never even heard of a flood! But must God use means with which we are familiar? Must He work in ways we expect? Because the people couldn't even imagine such a substantial work of God, they were swept away by it. "So also will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matthew 24:39). You see, deception comes through selfishness. When our hopes and dreams are only rooted in self-glory, not only do we miss the glory of God -- we can't even imagine it. When our eyes are fixed on ourselves, not only are we oblivious to God -- we assume His role in our lives. Self-focus always results in self-deception because when we lose sight of God, we lose sight of our purpose. Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and [you shall love] your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27). That is our purpose, lest we deceive ourselves. Today, we live in days very similar to the days of Noah. Jesus Christ is coming to take you home, and what a glorious day it will be to stand in His presence and worship Him "in the beauty of holiness" (Psalm 96:9)! But you must be prepared. Don't live a self-centered life; you only deceive yourself. Give your life to Jesus, and live for His glory. |
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