Sir Walter Scott once said, “To always be intending to live a new life, but never find time to set about it – this is as if a man should put off eating and drinking from one day to another till he be starved and destroyed.” Many are starving and destroying themselves spiritually: looking for a “convenient season” (Acts 24.25) to “call upon the Lord” (Romans 10.13) and to begin eating the “Bread of Life” (John 6.51). Then one day they wake up and realize it is too late. The door has been closed as in the parable of the “Ten Wise and Ten Foolish Virgins” (Matthew 25.1-13). Indeed, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
In Ecclesiastes 3.1 we read, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” But when it comes to being obedient and faithful to God…the time is now! When Jesus called His disciples they did not linger, but “immediately” left their old lives to follow Him (Matthew 4.22; 9.9). When Jesus called Zacchaeus to come down out of the tree “he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully” (Luke 19.6).
In Luke 14.16-24 Jesus tells of a man who had prepared a great supper and had invited his friends to come. But they all began to make excuses why they could not; “I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it,” “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them,” “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” The question I must ask myself is, “How long will I continue to make excuses for not doing what I need to do?”
How long will I continue to make excuses for…
- Not attending all the worship services, Bible Studies and fellowships of the church (Hebrews 10.25; Matthew 6.33; James 4.17)?
- Not giving back to God as he has prospered me: joyfully and cheerfully (Acts 20.35; 1 Corinthians 16.2; 2 Corinthians 9.7)?
- Not loving my brothers and sisters in Christ and speaking kindly toward them (John 13.35; Romans 12.10)?
- Not putting away childish things and humbling myself (Philippians 2.3-4; 1 Peter 5.5-6)?
- Not confessing my faults, repenting of my sins and asking for the prayers of the church (James 5.16; Acts 8.18-24).
- Not obeying the gospel and becoming a Christian (Acts 2.38; Galatians 3.27; 1 Peter 3.21; Romans 6.3-6)?
“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13.11). “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6.2). The time is now! Obey Him, and be faithful.