My favorite episodes fall into the category of being thought-provoking and would often lead to discussions regarding the choices made by the central character. One such episode starred the late, great actor, Burgess Meredith. He played a book-loving bank teller, Henry Bemis, who found himself the sole survivor of a nuclear war. In the course of this particular show, he wandered the ruins of his neighborhood trying to find his wife or anyone for that matter. All life was gone and he had nothing left to do.
In his despair, he looked up and saw the public library. As a lover of books, he found his purpose in the post-nuclear war. He finally had all the time in the world to read. He planned out his days, weeks, months and even years by organizing books in thoughtfully-planned stacks.
As he holds one of his books, he says, “And the best thing, the very best thing of all, is there's time now... there's all the time I need and all the time I want. Time, time, time. There's time enough at last.”
If you haven’t seen this episode, I won’t spoil it for you. Through a horrible accident, he loses his special gift of time.
In tears, he says his last lines, “That's not fair. That's not fair at all. There was time now. There was, was all the time I needed…”
Like Mr. Bemis, we all believe we have time to do one thing or another. Instead of doing those things, we, for whatever reason, put them off and believe that we have all the time in the world. But, there will come that moment when time runs out and we are left, like Mr. Bemis, lamenting the loss of our special gift of time.
The decision to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord often falls into this category of getting to it later in life. We make a conscious decision to postpone the most important event of our life and tell ourselves that we will have time later. Sometimes though, later never comes.
Of all the decisions we put off, this one is the single event you can’t push to another day, week, month or even year. One day, the trumpet will sound and there will be no more time. Or, you may be involved in some sort of accident and be unable to make that important decision. In whichever case, time is no more.
Paul, in chapter five of his first epistle to the Thessalonians, writes, “For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, ‘Everything is peaceful and secure,’ then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.”
The worst things seem to come up unexpectedly in our lives. No one really plans for illnesses or accidents. They just happen and often with little or no warning. We are caught by surprise and have to improvise our way out of them. In some cases, there are no paths out of them. We can try to mitigate the situations, but there may come a time when all of the things we do may not save us.
When it comes to our salvation, it is different. We all know the story of Jesus and why he came to live among us. But, we often just hear the words rather than truly listen to them. We put off the decision to accept Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord of our lives. We tell ourselves that we have time to consider it. But, that is not always the case. We have to be ready for that moment when we either close our eyes in death or when we hear the trumpet sound and Judgment Day is upon us.
Paul, later in chapter five, writes, “But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.”
As Christians, we must be ready at all times for Jesus’ return. For those who haven’t made a decision, time is running out. Like King Belshazzar in chapter five of the Book of Daniel, we see the handwriting on the wall. The warning signs are there for all to see. Famine, war, pestilence, disease and death are taking the lives of millions of people.
When you stand before the Father on Judgment Day, will you find yourself short when you have been measured, weighed and divided? Don’t put off your decision a moment longer. There is a voice softly and tenderly speaking to you right now and that voice is asking to come into your heart and change your entire life. Are you going to act or put your decision off again?
There is never enough time in our lives. I have held the hands of a number of people who honestly thought they had more time to do one thing or another. One of those things was to have a relationship with the Lord. I have prayed over those who have come to the end of their lives and didn’t make that decision in their lives. I pray that you aren’t one of them.
Accept Jesus into your life today and begin that daily walk of righteousness. Follow his example and obey the will of the Father. I can tell you this. You will be happier and lead a life full of joy and peace. Take this time to ask God to forgive you of your sins. Once you ask for forgiveness, you will receive the gift of eternal life with the Father and can stand firm in His grace daily.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
No comments:
Post a Comment