Guest post by Author Lauri Lemke Thompson
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” Isaiah 55:6-7 (NIV).
“He let the days slip away until there was no time left,” wrote Dr. David Jeremiah in his book Revealing the Mysteries of Heaven.
The author was referring to the rich man in the Bible parable who put off making a decision that would have taken him to Heaven. The wealthy man is in torment in Hell and begs for a bit of water – and for the chance to get a warning to his five brothers. The answer is no to both requests, as it was simply too late.
Speculation might tell us that the wealthy gentleman had good intentions to seek God “someday,” (as many do), but he had let the days slip away until there was no time left. People forget that we cannot predict the day of our death – or our “expiration date,” as a neighbor called it.
Dr. Jeremiah’s words are heavy and serious to me. Why? Because I think they can and perhaps should be applied to more than my own salvation. I am not one to lay guilt trips on people, but may I ask a few questions of you – and of myself:
What about that family member or relative with whom you could attempt, perhaps again, to encourage a relationship with Jesus? Have you given up even praying for them because years have gone by, and they don’t seem interested? Or the friend you’re afraid of offending so you don’t bring up Christianity? I know these are challenging situations, but maybe we too often yield to trepidation.
How about when the Holy Spirit nudges you to show kindness or generosity to someone and you neglect to act? Then there’s that broken or tenuous relationship you could try harder to mend or strengthen.
Failing to act on such will not impact your eternal destiny if you have received Jesus as your Savior, as the Bible is resplendent with verses such as I John 5:13: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (NIV)
However, you don’t want to live with regrets later in life; nor do you wish to ignore God’s prompting if He’s wanting to use you to favorably impact someone’s life.
Again, I believe this admonition may be apropos for all of us. Let’s not let the days slip away until there is no time left. The time to act might be now.
“Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened.” — Jennifer Yane
A Wisconsin native, Lauri Lemke Thompson appreciates living with her husband in the lovely Ozark mountains in Branson, Missouri. She is active in Christian Women’s Connection (Stonecroft) and the Ozarks Chapter of the American Christian Writers. Her two books, Hitting Pause and Pressing Forward, are collections of her articles and devotions. Her bimonthly column appears in the Branson Globe newspaper.