Cliff Notes

Now that this semester is coming to a close and the end of the year (and some say end of the world—12-21) is at hand, it is time to get serious and consider where you are and be ready for what is next. The very day I am writing this—12-12-12 is enough to give us pause for reflection. Given that we all are also facing a major tax hike and a potentially devastating crisis that will impact every American with this looming fiscal cliff, we should also be praying and seriously thinking about how our lives can easily change. What should you be taking note of? Whether you are facing that need for cramming for exams and possibly literally needing those Cliff Notes (or rather Cliff’s Notes, after Cliff Hillegass, who started writing those summary study notes back in 1958), or thinking of that cliff of time we are headed toward, or even thinking of this perilous fiscal cliff that so many are talking about, you need to stop and take some notes—some cliff notes!

Have you ever been hiking? Have you ever been to the edge of a precipice or on a ledge by a cliff? It is a fascinating and even frightening place to be! With a great vertical drop, you can usually look down for hundreds of feet and imagine what would happen if you fell. You’d better not be afraid of heights when you are looking over a ledge like that! On the positive side, being up high like that on a solid rock gives you a great and even broader perspective. Looking over a cliff or even over the peak of a mountain lets you observe all of what is below and even beyond. The edge of a cliff should help give you a better perspective and understanding of what to take note of in how you are living.

Given that we in America are on this fiscal cliff, what should we take note of? We should remember that we got here because our leaders failed to make the tough decisions at the time and govern in a way to avoid this. We should remember that it often takes these decisive moments to spur people into action. The fact is that the government has spent way too much money (more than it has taken in) for some time. The National debt (on what is government figured for such to be limited) is now well over $16 trillion dollars (actual public debt being over $58 trillion and unfunded liabilities nearly $122 trillion!). You should take note that it was in a Congressional negotiation over raising the debt ceiling that a deal was struck to make 01-01-13 a deadline that we are now looking to as this fiscal cliff. The tough decisions that have not been made in the past will then be forcibly made by law so that certain ones will legally take effect automatically.

Dear friend, in these perilous times in which we are living (see 2 Timothy 3:1-7), we must keep a greater perspective! We must live as children of the light and of the day (see 1 Thessalonians 5:2-10). We must take special note of this cliff of time in which we live and learn to live and act the way our Creator has instructed us to live and act. Are you right with your Creator—The LORD JESUS CHRIST? Are you ready for whatever happens and ready to meet HIM?

So, in this time of the year when many students are cramming and using those “cliff notes” and as we note what may or may not happen in the world on this time cliff of 12-21-12 and as we in America face this looming fiscal cliff, take note of where you stand and stand up high with HIM!