Keep your bra on and get your Bible out!

First, before I share today's message, can I just share how much I love this image of the princess entering Heaven and the Lion (our Lord) welcoming her ... someday. I can only imagine. 

Okay ... here we go:

We women can be quite resourceful. Yes, men can as well, but I just read a recent news story about a woman who was stranded after she fell while hiking.  

Amazingly, she used her sports bra, attached to some sort of lift-wire to signal her whereabouts. Once the cable started working, her bra ended up in the right hands (that would be anyone’s hands at this point) and she was delivered to safety. Deep sigh of relief. The article acknowledged her intelligent consideration in planning what to send. After all, she needed the remainder of her clothing in order to stay warm overnight. She didn’t randomly choose to send her sports bra, she made a quick, well-assessed plan, and it worked.   

I often wonder if I would be so ingenious in a perilous situation. Do you ever do that? You know, you imagine yourself in a specific hair-raising place or position where you alone are responsible for saving the day, and yourself. I guess you might call this a form of daydreaming. But, hey, when I was an athlete (swimmer) back in the day, I always visualized myself performing well before my events. It worked! – most of the time. 

I’m not sure why I’m even thinking about this. I guess the whole “bra story” got me thinking about emergency planning and preparation. Many of us plan better for what might happen in the “physical realm” than we do in the spiritual. 

Okay, okay, sounds weird, but let me explain. Remember back during the Year-2000-Scare? Many people stocked up on water, food, flashlights. Some even built extravagant underground dwellings where they could stockpile their goods and live for extended periods of time if needed. They were ready for the worst.  

However, according to God’s plan we should be more concerned about the matters of the heart, our hearts. Do we love God? Others?  Do we care about our character and living in a godly manner? Do we spend time combing His Word for those treasures that we can stockpile in our hearts? God tells us we should live in such a way that we are storing up rewards in Heaven not on earth. We try so hard to protect our physical selves, yet, so often, we fail to effectively manage our spiritual condition.  

I also recall during the preparation for the Year 2000 that many people actively, even aggressively, shared their concerns about the future and argued that we needed to be ready for worst possible scenario.  

Friends, the worst possible scenario would be to spend an eternity in hell apart from God’s presence. Yet, how much time and effort do we invest in helping others understand this very real threat? For me, unfortunately, I have to say, not enough.  

Maybe we should think a little harder, plan a little more, and become more ingenious like our lady hiker friend. I’m not suggesting we use our bras to spread the word, but we all have access to God’s Truth and His plan. Today is a new day. Let’s get creative and help people prepare for what’s real, forever, and always. Investing in the eternal makes sense considering where we spend our life after death is final.  

No need to wave your bra or boxers, just wave the Banner of Love.