Recently I moved to new accommodation and I decided to get rid of a few things. One of them was my Mathmos lava lamp. It has provided hours of entertainment and relaxation as I’ve enjoyed watching the waxy blobs rise and fall in their special liquid. It’s a feat of physics that fascinates me and it’s also given some spiritual analogies along the way.
But, at a time when I’m needing to lighten my load, I recognised that I couldn’t keep packing and unpacking this lamp any longer. I decided to sell it and whilst checking that it still functioned perfectly, I gazed at it one last time.
After turning the lamp on, there is a wait of about twenty minutes whilst the waxy mixture is heated by a halogen bulb. Then the mixture suddenly shoots upwards through the clear liquid to the top of the glass bottle, creating a unique pattern. This stage happens in a second and is easy to miss. Today, I was determined not to miss it.
As the twenty minutes neared its end, I sat and positioned myself in front of the lamp. I dare not take my eyes off of it. I couldn’t move, otherwise I would miss the moment. So I sat – I stared – then I stared some more. The temptation to do something else whilst I waited was strong, but previous attempts at witnessing this moment have taught me to stay put. Then I realised that was I was doing is like waiting for Jesus to return!
There are a number of things occurring in the world today that are predicted in the Bible; the ‘Signs of the Times.’ These act as a warning and an encouragement for us to position ourselves and be ready, like the twenty minutes with the lamp. But if we divert our gaze away from the ‘signs’, we will miss the return of Jesus because He will return ‘like a thief in the night’ – a metaphorical second.
for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
1 Thessalonians 5:2
It’s not only our eyes that need to be transfixed but our ears also. Thankfully there will be an audible cue to signal Jesus’ sudden return.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
What if we were so distracted by work, TV, video games, sport, films etc, that we missed this moment? Personally, I’m horrified at the thought of not being ready for my Saviour’s return!
There are many things we give our time to and many things that steal our time. Yet in both scenarios, we have a choice to make and this choice may not be a comfortable one. Today, God has literally challenged me to devote the time I give to watch the one TV programme I like, to Him. I genuinely hardly watch TV and this one show is enjoyable and encouraging. ‘That can’t be a bad thing can it?’ But such are the times we are now in, that this one hour is a time where God is calling me to come closer to Him, in order to hear what He is saying so that I am more prepared for what lies ahead.
How many times have we heard people say that there aren’t enough hours in a day? Yet we always find time for our favourite things, or social media.
Friends. There can be no excuses. We would be foolish to profess to be a Christian and then miss the return of our Holy Saviour because we were distracted by the things of this world. Indeed, time and opportunity to get ready are running out. Dare we risk missing the ‘suddenly’ moment of the Messiah’s return because our attention is drawn elsewhere?
Referring back to my lamp: once the lava is soft and supple enough, it is able to move upwards in its own suddenly moment. Are we spiritually supple enough to be able to move freely, or are there aspects of our hearts, minds and souls that are hardened and need more of the light and love of Jesus to soften it?
Another aspect of the functioning of the lamp is that the moment the bulb, the heat source is switched off, the wax stops rising and falling. The speed of its return to its static state always surprises me. ‘Surely there is enough residual heat in the wax, the liquid or the glass to keep it going?’ But no.
I believe it is such with our spiritual lives. The moment we step away from, or avert our eyes from our source: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is the exact same moment we cease to be ready.
So let’s turn away from the momentary things of this world and fix our eyes (and ears) on to that which is eternal; onto Him Who is returning.
Let’s be ready.
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TURN AND TRUST 