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Are We Prepared For Our Destined Appointments?

In Medieval times, a king would often have a jester to entertain him and to cheer him up when he was sad or troubled. The jester would tell funny stories, perform tricks, and do almost anything to amuse and distract the king in his difficult moments. The jester was called the king’s “fool.”

As the story goes, a certain king enjoyed his jester’s performances very much, making him laugh so easily. One day, the king handed the royal scepter to the jester and said, “If you ever find a fool greater than yourself, give this scepter to him.” After a while, the king grew deathly ill. Feeling very melancholy, the king called for the jester, hoping that he could make him feel better.

When the jester arrived the king said, “Ah, jester, I fear that I am about to depart upon a long journey.” “Have you known about this journey for long?” the jester inquired. “Well, yes I have” the king replied. The jester then asked, Have you prepared for this journey?” “No,” the king replied, “I’m afraid I have not.” Then, handing the royal scepter to the king, the jester said: “Then this belongs to you – for you are a greater fool than I.”

Wise are those who prepare for appointments that they know they must keep. Two such appointments that each and every one of us must keep are death (unless the Lord comes first) and the judgment to come. The Hebrew writer tells us, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Have we prepared ourselves for these appointments?

Because of His great love, God sent His Son Jesus into the world that through Him we might be prepared for these unavoidable and destined appointments. The Hebrew writer tells us, “So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:28). On the cross, Jesus bore the sins of the world upon Himself, and paid the price for our sins (1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:6; Acts 20:28).

We may receive the benefits of His sacrificial death by faith (Romans 10:17; cf. Hebrews 11:6), repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confession (Romans 10:9-10), baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), and then “walking in the light as He is in the light” through a life of obedience to God’s will (1 John 1:7; Matthew 7:21).

To those who have obeyed the Gospel and “eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Hebrews 9:28). No remedy remains, however, if we die in our sins and enter eternity without God. If Christ is not our sin-bearer, we will bear our own sins in judgment. Knowing all of these things, let’s ask ourselves, “Are we prepared for our destined appointments?”