She, the Atlantis, was carrying a load of timber logs for a distant land. Her hold was packed full of large, dry blocks of wood for a big building project. The logs were very heavy, and the journey ahead of the great ship was long. But the captain and crew had taken this trip many times before, and they loved the gently-rolling sea, the cool ocean breezes and the soft splash of fish and other sea creatures. You know what? They liked nothing better than to spend a couple of weeks on the calm, glassy water.

Only a few days out of the local harbor, however, the weather took a turn for the worse. Those gently-rolling waves the crew liked so much became tall and fierce. The cool ocean breezes became strong and cold. And all the softly-splashing fish disappeared and dove deep into the water, seeking shelter from the growing storm.

At first it was just another Eastern squall. They happened from time to time, out here on the open water. No big deal. But this time, long into the night, the rough seas dragged on and on. In fact, if anything, the waves seemed to be growing worse. No one got any sleep, and by morning most folks on the old steamship were tired and anxious.

The captain himself was worried, too. Oh, he'd weathered many an ocean gale in his years at sea, and he was always quiet and calm in rough water. But there was just something about this storm, something he simply could not explain, that made him very concerned. And as the Atlantis plowed further into the raging wind and the crashing waves, the captain felt a cold chill, way deep in his bones, that he simply could not shake. Something was terribly wrong.

Bang! Bang! With a terrible roar, the heavy logs, deep in the hold of the ship, broke loose from their ropes and rolled around below like claps of thunder. The captain jumped to his feet, his eyes darting around wildly, actually scared of the sea for the first time in his life. He knew the storm would pass ... it wasn't that. But if they couldn't get the logs tied up soon enough, the heavy cargo would shift to one side and the ship would sink.

Every man on the ship was in the hold now, restacking the logs and trying to tie them back down. But the waves grew higher and higher, tossing the huge ship around like she was a toy boat in a bathtub. It was no use. There simply wasn't enough time to re-stack the logs. They were shifting to starboard faster than the men could stack them. There just wasn't enough time. The wind had reached the top of its fury, whipping the waves into mountains of seething water. Powerless to stop them, the men watched as the logs thundered against the side of the freighter. The next wave caught the helpless ship off-balance. With a great bellowing roar, the Mighty Atlantis rolled hard to starboard, flipped on her side, and slipped beneath the crashing waves.

(A dramatic finish for Atlantis would be a good idea here. I had a large hollow pillar that I dropped my toy ship into. It had a nice effect as the ship immediately vanished, and landed with a hollow thunk inside the pillar).

Say: If only the men had had longer to work. If only the storm hadn't been so strong. If only, if only. If only they'd had more time.

Much like the ill-fated Atlantis, we only have a certain amount of time in this world. You see, God has given us a number of years to do his will here on Earth. Then, if we have trusted Christ as our personal savior, he will take us to be with him. Our time here will be done.

But unlike the task of Atlantis and her crew, our job is not hopeless. Not at all. You see, we do have enough time. God has given us the time we need to spread the good news of our Lord's salvation. We have plenty of time to help our family, friends, and church. We have been given the precious gift of time, we can't afford to waste it. So, let's stop living our lives trying to make ourselves happy. Instead, let's live the way God wants us to, doing the things He calls us to do in His Word.

Have a student look up 1 Timothy 6:12: "Fight the good fight for what we believe. Hold tightly to the eternal life that God has given you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses." (NLT)

Say: Exactly! We're to fight the good fight, run the long race by following God's plan for our lives. We mustn't waste a single opportunity to help someone out, or tell them about Christ's love for them.

Read Matthew 19:23: "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." (NKJ)

Explain that this verse does not mean a rich man or woman cannot spend eternity with Jesus. It just means we shouldn't make it the focus of our lives to save treasures for ourselves on Earth. Rather, we must work to store up treasures in Heaven ... and we accomplish that by doing what God wants us to do, for as long as we have here.