Through this sorrow I have been learning many things. The most important of which is that God is sovereign and we are responsible for our own actions apart from the cross. It has been especially hard knowing that my own father spurned the truth of the gospel, even at the end, in favor of his own pride. Yet, our God is still a good God. He does not desire that we spurn his offers of salvation, He continually (in many lives) reaches out the truth toward us and yet because of His character "God resists the proud, but give grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5). I have had to remember so much of His character these last several weeks as we first knew the time was near, but then we knew that Hope was no longer necessary. His character is what has allowed me to remember that no matter the choices that my father made, no matter how little concern he had for his own soul, God is always loving and faithful, just and pure. I say that not because I ever doubted the character of God, but because I realize the nature of a human life that rebels continually against their creator. I understand, while I am still deeply sorrowed by it, that God cannot allow us to go our own way. This has encouraged me, even while tears have been present.
The second thing I have learned is, Don't waste you life! You are given only a very limited time here upon the earth and those many may say "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die!" I disagree whole heartedly! Do not harden your heart as in the day of rebellion! Do not end your life as my father ended his, standing before the creator, for whose worship we were made and claiming anything but the blood of the Christ! A life spent on idle passion is not a life lived at all! That’s like spending hours and hours making a special instrument to use to play music and then you never play with it, you blow bubbles under water with it, you try to suck jujubes up with it, you attempt to use it to prop your dining table and you NEVER use it for music! FOLLY! What a WASTE!!!! And yet we do this to don't we? God created us to worship Him and we spend very little of our lives doing what we were made for. Oh we shop, we drive, we eat, we go on facebook, we watch movies, but do we Worship God?! Please, friend, do not waste your life!
And thirdly, don't give your life over to the temporal. So often we spend time dreaming about things here on earth. We fight so hard for issues here on earth. We spend hours of every day working at jobs so that we can satisfy expectations or desires of this world! And what’s going to happen to all those thing you dreamt about? They will all fade away, whether you achieve them or not! What happens to all the fights and arguments we engage in over worldly issues (not that I believe we shouldn’t fight things like abortion and other social issues)? They are either forgotten over time or are passed on to someone else. What about that new carpet we wanted so much or that new Expedition that just captured our fancy? 100 years from today those things will be junk, probably unrecognizable as the things they originally were. What does this tell you? Most things we spend our time doing are pretty worldly! We focus on what we can get today, we make sure we eat right, exercise, live up to a certain expectation, but are we concerned about ETERNAL SOULS?! Do you spend nights dreaming about people you know and love trusting in Christ! And BELIEVING it will happen? Do you work hard in relationships to grow a steady trust and affection so that when the need arises you have an open and willing heart for the Grace of Christ? Do you spend time praying for others, encouraging others, building up others? Do you even know how to communicate the gospel?
Or are you thinking that someday someone will come to you and teach you how to spread the gospel. But maybe you are saying "I just don't want to make waves!" and "Peace (not scriptural peace, but the absence of conflict) is more important than anything!" Are you waiting until you find it's too late and that relationship you are dragging your feet on is over for ETERNITY? Think about this, you are not guaranteed to live! Today might truly be your last, or the person you are avoiding may die tomorrow. Have you thought about that? Have you realized that right now you are in the process of dying? And more importantly so are those around you! This should impassion us to spread the gospel! To spend more time building relationships than saving money for that brand new and expensive car! It is the time to stop saying there will be time! When? When will there be time?! When they are dying and cannot speak or understand?! I know that many people do not realize the realities of the frailty of life until they see it in their own lives, but seriously, is that really an excuse?!
I hope you realize before it's time for repentance that you must take a stand. You cannot ride the fence forever; a car accident, a freak fire, or unexpected cancer can alter all your best laid plans. I had a friend once who told me they were convicted of being a procrastinator, and now I believe she is right, in my own life I have realized through repentance, how often we allow opportunities to either be taken from us or we simply let them pass away happily and expect (as if we have a guarantee) that we have oodles of time. It is shameful the way I and the Christian church have waged spiritual warfare! We Must STOP Being Pansies! WE HAVE TO STAND ON THE TRUTH! Or else more people will be damned eternally! Think for a moment about some unbeliever you love, imagine them separated from you in punishment FOREVER! If you are unmoved, I think you must check your salvation!
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