I saw the blue lights on my way to work this morning. They were not for me. They were for another. They were leading them home.
Two police cars were traveling side-by-side, leading the way in the early morning fog and rain. Their lights were flashing as they drove north along the highway, with a string of car lights a mile long following behind them. Here in the south, it is tradition to pull over or slow down when approaching a funeral procession. It is considered a sign of respect and honor for one’s life. We all slowed down.
I have seen this sight many times on my way to work. Sometimes there are lots of flashing lights, motorcycles or other brigades, yet it never ceases to catch my breath. There is a national veterans cemetery in the direction of where I live, so I imagine these ceremonial processions are headed there, and that is why I see them more often, and perhaps reminded more often.
We will all have our own procession one day. It is inevitable, and so it is worth our time to stop for a few minutes today and think about our lives, and what it will mean when we are traveling down that final road. Who will be leading our procession? Who will be following behind us? Is our life a life lived well?
A neighbor recently posted a picture online of a paper cup that someone had thrown on his freshly cut green lawn. He actually took a picture of the cup laying in his yard, and spent several minutes online ranting over the injustice of it. He even planned to get a camera to catch the culprit the next time they threw trash on his lawn. Silly, yes, but I guess we’ve all had our moments like that. Sometimes we are more concerned about our lawns, or the person who cut in front of us in line, our jobs or our bank accounts. None of those things will be there to lead or follow us during our procession. Your life is the most valuable thing you own. Often we spend more time researching our 401k than we do our own lives. My hope is that you will take a few minutes today and make sure you are ready for your own procession someday. Not for your will or retirement, but that you are right with God. Don’t make the fatal mistake of waiting until it’s too late to have that conversation with God.
Get your soul settled with God.
Make sure you know, without a doubt, that no matter what happens next in your life, you are right with God in your heart. This doesn’t mean we must have everything cleaned up in our lives first. It means that we acknowledge the One who made us, that He loves us with a love that is more than we can ever imagine or deserve, that we know we have sinned against God’s ways and are willing to humble ourselves before God, asking for His forgiveness through His Son, Jesus Christ, whom God sent to us to take away the stain of our sins and to represent us, holy before God.
Jesus Christ becomes like the blue lights leading the funeral procession. He will lead you home when it is time.
With sins forgiven, hearts changed, and lives forever sealed by God, our hearts become more aligned with God’s heart. And as our hearts begin to change, we will no longer be as concerned about those trivial things. Things that used to take up our time, things that we know are not as healthy for our minds and hearts, will begin to fade in importance. In their place, we will start to become more aware of those that are following behind us, about what we teach them and about the truth. And we can have peace of mind for when it comes time for our own procession. I want Jesus leading the way.
