The days of Noah

As an antique dealer for many years, I had the opportunity to meet a lot of characters. And in that world of parking lot deals, or going to people’s houses to buy stuff, and all the cash transactions that used to take place, I met a lot of sketchy people. One guy that actually ended up being a friend was connected to the Mafia at one time. But there was another guy, an old man that lived in Winchester, Virginia that sold me a fake piece at the very beginning of my career. And over the years, I got to know him pretty well. Once in a great while, I got something decent from him. But most of the time, he would call me up and talk me into driving 3 hours one way to go see him so he could show me this “special” piece that he thought he had. He never seemed to tire of trying to put one over on me. Nice old guy, but a genuine crook. As the years went on, Kenny got more and more frail. And I was always amazed that here was this old guy at the end of his life that was using the little bit of time he had left to try to pull one more scam on me. I haven’t heard from him now in several years and I assume that he died. But for a while there he would periodically call me, too weak to even drive anymore, but still wanting me to come down there and visit him, saying that he had something really “special” to show me.

Sadly, I see people doing the same thing today, living as if they have all the time in the world. Just this last Friday morning the largest earthquake to ever hit Japan caused a devastating tsunami. I’m sure you watched it on the news and witnessing that wall of water traveling across the landscape pushing houses and cars and all kinds of debris was just amazing. The week or so before, New Zealand suffered a major earthquake with many dead and massive injuries to both people and infrastructure. A few weeks before that, Queensland in Australia suffered catastrophic flooding on an epic scale unlike anything they’ve ever experienced. And in the Middle East, within the last couple of weeks, dictatorships that have lasted 30 years are suddenly toppling like dominos, and unrest is spreading across the world. Gas prices are going crazy as a result and the next fear is that food prices are going to skyrocket. All this on top of the worst recession that this country has experienced in almost a hundred years.

And yet, for most of us, we go on about our daily business as if nothing is really going on and we’re not really experiencing the last days. For a large portion of the population, they are continuing to try to do just one more deal, or maybe just another weekend of hitting the bars, or perhaps just another hit on a bong or another pill or line that will numb them to the reality that things are coming to a head. I’m convinced, more than ever, that the coming of the Lord is at hand. How much longer I don’t know, but one thing I do know, I want to be found faithful at his appearing. I want to spend whatever time I have left in service to the Lord. The Lord is coming soon and we will see Him in His glory. For some that will be a great day. For others, it will be a time of mourning.

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days which were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:36-39

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