Luke 12:40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Are you ready? Maybe you’re familiar with the story of Rick Rescorla.
Rick Rescorla was the Director of Security at Morgan Stanley, the company that occupied 22 floors in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Rescorla believed the Towers stood as prime targets for a terrorist attack. So he devised an evacuation plan for its employees and made them practice it diligently. A plan that would prove his instincts invaluable.
On the morning of 9/11 when terrorists hit the North tower, Rescorla wasted no time. Although the order had come from the Port Authority for everyone to sit calmly at their desks, he refused to comply and instead began implementing his evacuation plans. By the time the South Tower was hit— about 19 minutes later—Rescorla had led 2700 people to safety. Only 13 employees died, including Rescorla. This heroic man had prepared those under his watch for the tragedy he hoped would never happen.
His story got me thinking about the importance of being prepared.
In Luke 12, Jesus warns his disciples to be ready for his return. He told them to be on guard against hypocrisy, greed and anxieties. Don’t entangle themselves in temporary ambitions and a false sense of security. He said the “blessed” consist of those who are faithfully serving, doing whatever God has called them to do while they actively wait.
I think that’s a mindset hard to cultivate in our here-and-now culture. If we can’t see the purpose in disciplining ourselves for something beyond ourselves, we’re likely to dismiss it. I imagine if those employees in the South Tower would have had an option, they would have skipped the evacuation drills.
And yet, Jesus tells us to be ready. To keep our lamps burning in a darkening world. Keep going through the drills of loving other people, of walking humbly and justly. Of being generous and serving his will, not our own. An evacuation day is coming for each of us, whether we’re alive at his return or whether we’re released from the cords of death.
Are you ready?