The SYGNA Storm!

"You must be ready because Jesus will come again when we least expect him." That's my take on Luke 25:40.

We are all going to get a big surprise when that happens.

Way back in 1974, here in Newcastle, Australia, we certainly got a big surprise. We personally had just brought our baby girl home from the hospital after her long and difficult birth, and our very first night all together was when the "SYGNA" storm hit Newcastle. We call it the SYGNA storm because that is exactly what it was.

The SYGNA was a Norwegian bulk carrier built in 1967 that ran aground during our major storm in May 1974. She was a coal carrier and was waiting 4 kilometers or 2.5 miles off the coast to load coal from the BHP Wharf when the storm hit. All the ships off our coast were told by the Bureau of Meteorology to move out to sea for safety. Seven of the ten ships anchored off the coast did, but the SYGNA was one that didn't and ended up paying the price.

The RAAF Base at Williamtown's Search and Rescue Squadron here in Newcastle, ended up rescuing 30 of the trapped sailors from the ship in near cyclone conditions, Fortunately not one was killed or injured during the rescue mission, and considering the cyclonic conditions, that was a pretty amazing miracle.

The trapped sailors on the SYGNA would have been totally caught by surprise and bewilderment, especially in the amazing and terrible cyclonic conditions, being winched off the wrecked ship and carried to shore. Incredible rescue we can remember so well.

None of them would have been expecting anything like that!

And so it is going to be the same surprise when Jesus comes back, like he promised in Luke chapter 12, verses 35-38, when Jesus told another parable about being Watchful Servants.

It goes like this in the "The Message" version of the Bible:- "Keep your shirts on; keep the lights on! Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch! He will put on an apron, sit them at a table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. It doesn't matter what time of the night he arrives; they're awake - and so blessed."

The Bible goes on to say that "Jesus, the Son of Man, will show up when we least expect him". In other words, BE ALERT and BE READY!

We all have to be ready because he is coming back. We need to live our lives being ready for Jesus' return. So....

What is going on in your life? Have you ever thought of Jesus' return at all? I know that no one on this earth knows when he is coming back or when we are due to go to him. We certainly need to live our lives, knowing that Jesus WILL return, but none of us knows when this will happen.

Just take a moment to think about your own life here on earth at this very moment. Ask yourself,  "Am I ready for the return of Jesus? Does my Christianity mean anything to me at all?" Or maybe, "What is Christianity - some sort of fairy tale?"

When you are at home and lounging around, your house may be in a bit of a mess, then suddenly someone shows up, and all panic lets fire. You can imagine if Jesus suddenly returns? What are you going to be doing at the time? The mind boggles!

Would you be ready for the return of Jesus? Jesus can come here at any time, and do you know what? We need to be ready, and I mean ready! Spiritually alert and always ready to meet Jesus. 

Let's live in readiness for the return of the king; not in fear, not in scariness, but out of love. Jesus will welcome us in love if we ask him into our lives to steer us in everything we do. He will provide total care for us, which in itself is amazing because Jesus died for us just so we can ask his total forgiveness.

When we live our lives with Jesus at the helm, our lives take on a whole new purpose. With all of this in mind, the total thing is that we really need to live our lives in complete readiness to meet Jesus face to face.

Life seemingly passes so quickly; hard to believe when you are still young, and so many things are happening in your life. Life can be so fulfilling and also can be so draining, yet we can get all wrapped up in all of its pleasures, duties, tasks, and responsibilities, etc. Do you know the average age for a male in today's world is 70 years and 4 months? A lady in today's world is 73 years and 6 months old. Of course, that totally depends on your young life, but statistics are statistics.

Thinking of that makes me wonder what I consider first-rate or priorities in my life?  When looking back, life has sped by at a rate of knots, so now I'm older, which makes me totally wonder if I have achieved or have really loved others as I have loved Christ?

You know, none of us know when our time is up. It was disastrous today to hear of yet another horrible car accident when two young people crashed head-on into another car, holding just the driver. All three died. 

Time is running out for all of us, really. We may not consider that, but it is so true, and as we get older, it becomes more and more realistic and so true. It's what we do with our life, and really not the length of our life, because none of us know how long we have here.

Jesus stopped the world when he took our sins upon himself and killed them on a cross. He was just 33 years old. He died for you and me and took our sins and killed them on that day on Calvary.

Is there a quality to your life?  We all really need to realise the shortness and actual urgency of time. So we really do need to invest what is left in coming to Christ, asking his forgiveness, and inviting him into our lives to take control in every situation in which we find ourselves.

God bless you this week, and I hope to see you next time.