The other day Ana and I got home from work after sundown and went to the chicken coop to gather the eggs. As we opened the barn door we saw something we weren’t expecting. There were chickens everywhere!
Turns out the door to the coop had fallen shut, preventing the chickens from getting into their home when sunset came. Instead they’d taken shelter in the barn. They were roosting on the gardening equipment, clustered around the closed door to the coop, and some were hiding in the tall weeds nearby.
It took us about a half hour to gather them all up and get them back where they belonged. As we headed back to the house, Ana laughingly said, “I can feel a story coming on!” She knows me so well!
We live in the final days of earth’s history. You need only look at the headlines to know this to be true. Soon, “…Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation,
even to that time.” (Daniel 12:1 NKJV). Soon the cry will ring out, “Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!” (Matthew 25:6)
When that day comes God’s children, all those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” will be saved. (Revelation 7:14). Like the 5 wise virgins in the parable in Matthew 25 they will be welcomed into the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Together with those who have died in Christ they will be caught up in the clouds, “to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall [they] ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
For those who have waited, however, those who are not prepared, the door will be forever shut. Like the 5 foolish virgins, and like our silly chickens, they will find themselves locked out in the cold, dark night and “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:12).
This is a sobering thought, but there’s good news! The door is still open! There is still time, but it is quickly slipping away! “Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2)
My friend, please don’t wait a moment longer. “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7). Don’t make the same mistake as our foolish chickens and wait till it’s too late. Give Jesus your heart today. The door’s still open – come on home!