Ain’t No Vultures in Heaven

1.17.2011

Luke 17:37 37 “Where, Lord?” they asked. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” NIV

Jesus said some pretty weird things and Luke 17.37 is one of them but we must remember to take them in context of the entire conversation and try to grasp the obvious: there ain’t no vultures in heaven. Where Lord? Not there My child, not there.

Where, Lord? Jesus could’ve been talking about one of two places: the place where they would be taken or the place where they would be left. The conversation begins with Jesus telling them, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.” And then He says, “Men will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.” He implies, “Stay focused!”

It seems there are two kinds of people in the world, those who focus upon heaven, and those who focus upon earth. When the disciples asked Jesus, “Where, Lord?” there were focused upon the earth and couldn’t understand why Jesus would say such things. The Lord helps them by saying, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” Vultures don’t gather in heaven; vultures only gather on earth to consume carrion; and, like many airlines today, there ain’t no carrion in heaven – (buh-bum, tish!)

Jesus is only coming back for those who are focused upon heaven – and to underscore this, He said, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Lot’s wife perished in the departure from Sodom because she couldn’t focus upon heaven… (cf. Genesis 19.12 ff.)

My only refuge is to maintain my focus, energies and spiritual footing toward heaven and to try to convince as many people as I can to do the same. Lot’s wife was offered the opportunity to be saved and she couldn’t accept it – the tug of the world on her heart was too great for her to overcome – I must beware of the tug of the world on my own…

Father in Heaven,
Far too often I’m just a sucker for a shiny coin. I pray that You help me to keep my focus upon heaven, and to beware the tug of the world on my heart. Thank You for keeping me safe, and for teaching me to recognize when I get off track – amen.