From beginning to end, life revolves around preparation. Antithetical to being prepared is either ignorance of need or procrastination—simply putting it off. Procrastinating indefinitely leaves one stranded!

     The logistics of living demand definite preparation—daily plans to life-long plans. When "things" just happen, they are generally not "ready" to happen! For example, plans are carefully thought out before a birth (choosing a name, selecting clothes, making ready a nursery). In this life, temporal preparedness never ceases until the end of life and funeral arrangements have been carried out.

     Opting out of being prepared is not a simple matter of preference, but really a matter of "life and death". The great importance and distinction between the absence and presence of preparedness is given in Biblical wisdom where it speaks of being either wise or foolish. Being prepared is a matter of wisdom—any option to that is foolishness! The Book of Proverbs states, "There are four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise [for example]: the ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer..." (Proverbs 30:25). Their preparation is, indeed, a matter of "life and death".

     While it is good sense to prepare for one's future on this earth, it is extremely wise and sobering to do so with an awareness of life's uncertainty. The Bible says, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth" (Proverbs 27:1). The Bible also tells us that life is "a vapor that appears for a little time and vanishes away" (James 4:4). This being true, James reminds us that when we are going to do "this or that', we ought to say: "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that'. Will the plans you make today come to fruition thirty days from now? God only knows the answer! "Our time on earth is brief, the number of our days is already decided by [God] you" (Job 14:5 CEV).

     Is there such a thing as perfect preparation in an imperfect world? The answer is "Yes!" If we look beyond the powers of this imperfect world! This is the essence of the historic faith of the church of God. Found in the Bible is the declaration of good news to imperfect man that God sent a perfect Savior to atone for sin. It is called a substitutionary gospel—God's righteousness for our unrighteousness, God's perfection for our imperfection.

God, speaking in the Book of Amos of the transgressions of Israel, defines their transgressions as "panting after the dust of the earth..." (Amos 2:7). This was living tied to an imperfect world—leaving God out. As a result of God's impending judgment, His command to Israel was: "Prepare to meet thy God" (Amos 4: 12). This, in fact, is the greatest preparation known to man. Why? Because this preparation is not temporal but eternal.

     A rich landowner named Carl often rode around his vast estate so he could congratulate himself on his great wealth, One day while riding around his estate on his favorite horse, he saw Hans, an old tenant farmer. Hans had sat down under a tree to eat his lunch. When Carl rode up, Hans said, "I was just giving thanks for my food".

     Carl retorted, "If that's all had to eat, I wouldn't feel like giving thanks".

     Hans responded, "It is sufficient and I am thankful for it." Then he added, "it is strange you should come by today for I had a dream last night. In my dream a voice told me, the richest man in the valley will die tonight. I don't know what it means, sir, perhaps nothing, but I thought I ought to tell you".

     Carl snorted, "Dreams, they are nonsense", and he turned and galloped away, but on his mind were the words of Hans: "The richest man in the valley will die tonight." He was obviously the richest man in the valley; therefore, Hans' statement troubled him. He called his doctor that evening to come over. Carl told the doctor what Hans had said. After a thorough examination, the doctor told the wealthy landowner, "Carl, you are as strong and healthy as your horse, there's no way you're going to die tonight".

     For assurance, the doctor stayed with Carl and they played cards through the night. As dawn broke, Carl thanked the friend and told him how foolish that he felt for being upset by the old man's dream.

     At about nine o'clock that morning, a messenger arrived at Carl's door, "What is it?" Carl demanded.

     The messenger replied, "It's about old Han, he died last night in his sleep!" (Story adapted from Second-Ponce De Leon News)

     Hans was surely the richest man in the valley; his preparation to die came not from the earth's riches but from above!