If you’ve known me longer than 5 minutes and I were to ask you to guess my favorite animal you would probably say a frog or a snake.  You would be very close to the truth but those guys are a close second and third place to my ultimate favorite animal, the Raccoon.  Ever since I was a kid I have had a strange fascination with these masked bandits in the night.  I love their mischievous behavior and sneaky antics and most of all their intelligence.  If you’ve ever been camping someplace wilder than a suburban backyard you know that if food is left out in your camp you may be awakened by devious nocturnal thieves.  Raccoons love to invade a campsite and ravage anything left out if things aren’t properly stored.  

When I think of scriptures that parallel an animal or the activities of an animal it’s not a far stretch to think about the nature of Raccoons and 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6.  This scripture says Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.   But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.  You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 

As believers in Jesus Christ we shouldn’t worry about when the end will come nor shall we worry about the false security preached by so many false prophets of the day.  We just need to be adequately prepared by accepting Jesus Christ as our savior and living true to his word.  We know our security is in our Lord Jesus Christ and if we continue to live in the light of day we will not be surprised by a thief in the night.  We are not nocturnal creatures like my favorite animal buddy the raccoon happens to be.  So the things we do are done in the light in full view of the world.  Are you prepared for a nocturnal thief?

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