– Psalm 90:12
Our Days Are Numbered!
How many days do we have left to serve the Lord? One! That's it! THIS day is all we have! In fact, we don't even know that we will have the whole day do we? When I look at it that way (and really, there is no other way to look at it), I must admit I find myself a bit panicked. I mean, after all, there is so much more that I want to DO to show God that I love Him. There are so many more ministries to help out in and so much more teaching to soak up in my attempt to know Him better. What a fool I am.
God can take me right now if He wants to and based on my understanding of the condition of my heart, I am in no way ready. Oh I'm sure I would see Him and be welcomed into His kingdom, but I'm thinking I might try to sneak past the gates to heaven like a dog with its tail between its legs – moving quickly and as silently as possible so as not to be noticed by all the angels and saints. You see, in MY mind, I want to strut into heaven – head held high and chest pushed out. You know, walking tall and proud because of the way I made it in to heaven - walking with the assurance that me and Jesus are pals and I don't need to be checked at the door because of my VIP status . . . PLEASE!
It's a sober wake up call to know that today is all I have to make a difference in this world. Just today. Now God willing, I will get to play out this one day scenario for many years to come, but I just can't count on that anymore. I look at my life and I wonder what my obituary would read like – not the one here on earth, but the one in the Eternity Herald – you know, the one the angels read in which all the newcomers are announced. I think they (the Eternity Herald obits) read something like this:
Johnny A. Mann
Johnny left earth on such-and-such a day and is expected to pass through our Pearly Gates any time now. Johnny was best known in his earthly life for the way he always made sure everyone around him knew our Lord. He was a man who loved Jesus and because of that, he loved living his life! Johnny openly shared God's Word with boldness, but with grace, and he genuinely cared about his brothers and sisters on earth. He comes to us in the same humility as he lived his life. Because of Johnny's love of sharing the Gospel, hundreds of souls will now be joining us soon. Let's all welcome Johnny into our new family! (It would show a picture of Johnny with a giant ear-to-ear grin getting a big hug from Jesus at the Pearly Gates).
What would mine read like? Not quite as successful as Johnny's I'm afraid. Oh I've had my moments – and those moments are getting more and more frequent. But there is still too much of the sinner in me. There is still the me that is STILL sometimes scared to share the Lord at work; there is the me that STILL get's angry in traffic, and the me that STILL doubts, and STILL worries. there's the critical me, and the cynical me, and the self-righteous me, and the me that spends more time watching TV than reading God's Word. OUCH!
I know there will be much rejoicing when my time comes to walk through Heaven's gates but I also know there is so much more living for Jesus that I can be taking advantage of – right here – right now! It won't get me any special favors in Heaven and I know that no amount of ANYTHING that I can do has guaranteed my spot. It's ALL about grace and forgiveness and God's eternal love for me (for us), but at the same time, there is so much to be done for the kingdom. As one if it's warriors and as one if it's heirs, I have a responsibility to "be about my Father's business" and there is no better time than right now to have the urgency to do it.
One day - just today – that's all. How about you? Have you been taking your time for granted? I know it's hard not to because we all think we are going to live a long time, but there is nothing to guarantee that we will. We read about it every day and we see it on the news – every day – people taken out of this world just-like-that! Maybe it's time we start living like there's no tomorrow – like we are going to see Jesus tomorrow. The urgency of our lives is now! Let's start living like it!
Prayer
Father, forgive my assumption that I can take the time to live for You tomorrow. I know that I have no guarantee that I will live past the next few minutes and I need to make sharing Your Word THE priority in my life. Help me Lord to find that urgency within myself. I have always been a procrastinator and kind of lazy when it comes to my walk – but You already know that. Please help me to change Lord, help me to have the boldness to share Your love with everyone. Help me Lord.
I pray God's blessing over all of you!
–Richard
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