My time on this earth is not promised. I am favored to even be alive on the earth at this moment, and every second that passes by is a second in which we are all allowed to exist. God's grace is silently apparent to all who recognize this wonderful act, for as long as God continues to let his broken creation press on in their pursuit of him, more and more people are drawn to the truth of God and his unfathomable mercy and love.
So where am I going with this? Well, here's the thought that I'm thinking right now (though it's really late, and I'm probably just going off on an exhaustion-induced rant):
This life that I'm living, and this flesh that I exist in has never been insured against a sudden end or termination. I am living a life that can, at any moment, be snuffed out and go from exciting to extinct. I think a lot of people don't realize this, or prefer to conveniently look over it. I wonder how much differently people would act, speak, and think if they knew for a fact that they only had two hours to live. I wonder if they would have a different conversation with their friend in the car if they knew they were both going to die in a head-on collision in 30 seconds. I wonder if the husband would refrain from yelling at his wife if he knew she would die of a heart attack in 15 minutes. I wonder if parents would try to enjoy their kids more and kids would act a little better if they knew that their other family members were close to dying. Have you ever noticed that terminally ill patients seem to be treated so nicely by everyone they come into contact with? This makes me wonder one more thing.
Would I act differently as a Christ follower if I knew I was going to die in 24 hours?
Well, of course I would! I would go out and proclaim Christ on the streets! I would go and repair some broken relationships, forge some new ones, plant some seeds, and pull some weeds. I would try to set everything in order that I have for so long been putting off. I would pursue the attainment of harmony in my life before I passed.
So, then, I have to wonder something else: Why am I not living like that right now? After all, I've established that my time is not guaranteed, and my minutes' number is not known to anyone but God. I could die in my bed as I'm writing this post; I could die in 5 minutes; I could die in 5 decades; either way, one thing is certain: I will die. I have a very, very short time to live my life here on this earth, and I am beginning to get sick and tired of myself when I push things off or procrastinate. Honestly, I don't have time to procrastinate; We don't have time to procrastinate. I cannot afford to use my time for myself. My time belongs to God, and God is all about people. And if God is all about people, then that means that I, as a Christian, as a physical mirror of God, must be all about people as well. I must put aside all selfishness and proclaim the Gospel to those in need of it. I need to get down in the mud with people and speak Christ to them. I need to get out of my comfy bed and sleep on hard concrete floors if that's what it will take to bring someone to Christ.
My nervousness, embarrassment, shame, and awkwardness really don't mean anything, because I am not my own, I am Christ's. Everything I am - everything I do, say, think, and pray - needs to be dedicated to God and his purpose. I have a short 80- years to complete the task he has given me, and I'll need every second to do so. I honestly look at the decades I may have and I wonder how in the world I will be able to do all of what I am called to do. But I place my faith in Christ and in his unfailing grace. If he takes me today, he is good. If he takes me in 90 years, he is just as good. The lord takes us when he wills, but we do as much as we can before our end.
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