I apologize for having to be the one to inform you of this, but you really don’t have much time left. Whether it be the imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the failing of your mortal temple, your time here on earth is both limited and inevitable in its conclusion. Now, I am sure that each of you reading this understands quite fully the substance of these words, and very plainly heard within you a small voice that said, “You are going to die.” No matter the words you used, passed on, fall asleep, end of your mortal existence, the subject matter remains the same and is inescapable, death will come for you one day, and you will have no choice but to go with him.
The question posed to you is not one of assurance of your salvation, but of time, for in this statement of truth “Time does not matter, only life matters,” is where we will find the topic of our conversation. At the foundation of this topic must then also be this question, are you living, or are you just alive, or to phrase it rather bluntly, can you justify your continued existence as useful. A difficult question indeed, for it requires us to look deeply into two subjects within ourselves that only we can answer, is my life serving a purpose for the eternal, and am I prepared to die.
When I was a very small child of perhaps five or six years old, I attended my first funeral, it was in honor of a very old woman, the epitome, if you will, of the “little old Lady,” and to my very young eyes she seemed to be a thousand years old. I recall standing on my toes to look into the coffin at her, this frail woman who had been the secretary for decades where my father was employed, and being struck by an odd thought for such a little boy, and that thought was this, “I am going to die also.” What was interesting though was that it did not strike fear and terror in me, it did not produce dreams and thoughts of dread, of trying to escape this new-found fact, it made me want to live. Not in a sense mind you of being overly cautious of everything that could possibly pose a risk to my life, but just the opposite, I wanted to encounter what many would consider risks, to go wherever I could, to see and experience everything that I could possibly imagine, to live to the fullest.
This inevitable fact of the cessation of my existence caused within me a desire to “be,” not just to exist. Those of you who have read many of these letters that the Holy Spirit is prompting me to write know that I have been very close to death several times, something I consider an incredible blessing, for it is in these moments of time that Christ has shown me that my life is more precious to Him than it is to any that love me here, even to myself, as is my death. (Psalm 116:15) My error in the vast majority of my life though in these pursuits, even after the event of my salvation, though I admit that it has lessened somewhat, was that my ambition and drive was only for the experiences that the world could offer, a continuing search for the next new thing, an adrenaline filled, motivating drive to see what was over the next hill, with no thought whatsoever for the future consequences. In a sense “Right here, right now” was all that mattered, but I have been blessed greatly by our Lord with the knowledge that ‘right here and right now’ are all that matters to Him in what we call this passage of time.
Are we to be wise and use our past experiences to plan as much as possible for the future, of course, a wise steward of the life that He has blessed us with should do no less, but we must begin to realize though that we can do absolutely nothing about our past, for the believer who has accepted Christ in their heart, all past sins have been forgiven, and when we apply 1st John 1:9, even the recent transgressions that we have committed against the Most Holy One are placed as far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12) The difficult part for some Christians is that they will not forgive themselves, they have, as it were, placed themselves above God by not moving on in life and living freely within the boundaries that He has so graciously placed around us. A morose, sorrowful existence describes the lives of these individuals, continuously reminding themselves, or falling into the thoughts of past transgressions reminded to us by Satan, of past occurrences that haunt them. And if this is not bad enough, though it disturbs me to speak this truth, even their brothers and sisters in Christ look at them differently, almost in disgust and distaste when these that we are speaking of express their testimony of not only who they were before Christ, but sins that they have committed and repented of since their salvation. These testimonies become a burden to those that hear them, and the consequences can be a loss of fellowship with these weaker brothers and sisters who are unable in their heart to forgive what Christ Himself has forgiven in the speaker, and so the cycle continues.
For those who will not forgive themselves, there is no living of life, for the trap of the past has them in a firm grip, the occurrence of the remembrance of past forgiven sins are always in the present for them, and when these transgressions come to mind, they will not accept that the blood of Christ has covered them. (1st John 1:7) Though they are alive in Christ, (Rom. 6:11) they will not accept this truth, and they remain dead to the joy that He offers them freely.
For those individuals that would live in the future, the Scriptures are quite clear, there is enough evil today without trying to spend today on tomorrow, (Matt. 6:34) to be overly concerned with the future, whether in terms of your finances, your health, the time left to you here on this planet, means only one thing, you do not trust God. The old hymnal is true, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.” This does not infer that we should not use the gift of common sense that we have been blessed with, we are to seek the advice of others whom God has seen fit to bless in areas that we are either unaware in or unsure of. (Prov. 15:22) We should constantly be seeking His will for our future, (1st Thess. 5:17) and (Prov. 3:5+6) but we must use great caution and spiritual discernment when attempting to differentiate between common sense and faith.
One of Satan’s most effectual strongholds is the twisting of common sense, and in this arena he has thousands of years of experience. Was it not our first parents who heard, “Hath not God said” (Gen. 3:1) This was not just a question to them about our Lords truthfulness concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but a statement on their abilities to make up their own minds, to use common sense to determine what was in their best interest. My brothers and sisters in Christ, memorize this next verse, repeat it often, for it does more than tell us not to be concerned with the future, not to rest in far-flung plans we have no real control over, it teaches us not to fear, it teaches us to trust, it speaks this foundational truth to us, “The just shall live by faith.” (Rom. 1:17)
Our Lord holds the future in His hands, and no matter how much you may try to rationalize this statement, you do not. Every single sin from the cross to those that you just repented of a few moments ago are remembered no more by our Lord, forgive yourself of them also, and begin to love this very moment fresh and new in His presence. Stop worrying about things that you have no control over, let God take care of the future, He is very good at it.
We are a strange lot my friends, we have been given free will to serve or not to serve by the sovereign Lord of all creation, indeed, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)
There are only two places where our Lord has chosen to meet us, the present and the eternal, abide there with Him, there is peace there, they are the only places where you will find security and hope, and they are the only places where you will find the rest in Him that He has faithfully promised.