Christian thoughts from everyday life in and around the three cities.
ARE YOU READY TO GO?
Between 5 and 7 most mornings the big buses ready for the longer journeys – to places like El Obied, Kosti, Shendi and Atbara – turn on their engines to warm up and the drivers sound their horns to let passengers know of imminent departure.
‘This bus is going to leave. Take your seat now, or it will go without you. Your chosen destination will be lost’. The bus stations are a hive of activity around this time as bleary-eyed people buy snacks for the journey, before stowing their luggage (usually on the roof) and boarding ‘their’ bus.
The sound of blaring bus horns is a reminder of an ultimate departure which none of us can avoid. Christians believe that Jesus Christ is going to return to this world. He is going to take believers with him into heaven. He is also going to direct unbelievers into eternity lost.
Wars in our world, and rumours of wars, are signs pointing towards the end of time. Fearful natural disasters and rampant plague diseases are other signs. Jesus himself said people should “look up” when they see these, because the time of his return is fast approaching.
Our radio and TV news bulletins everyday tell us of events which can be interpreted as these signs. Do they make you consider your life after this one finishes? Are you ready for the future God wants you to have?
Now is the time to do what you need to do, and be made right with God, before Jesus returns. It is essential to personally get to know Jesus, who alone is the true way to eternal life.
You may catch another bus, but you will never find a different Saviour.
All these articles were first published in the Khartoum Monitor newspaper, Sudan, between September 2002 and April 2003.
Then, as a collection, by Khartoum International Church November 2003.