Perhaps it’s the bad aftertaste of the cheaper Merlot or the knot in our stomach after an investment plummets that reinforces our need to get it right. We try to learn from our mistakes, yet we are always aware of the potential danger lying behind each and every decision we make. Our decisions, however, are heavily influenced by all the external stimuli we sense in any given moment.
We believe we are in charge, yet we continually pay heed to the squeaky wheel, or what screams the loudest. It’s as it we’re at a press gathering with reporters bouncing on their toes flailing arms and barking questions; all vying for our attention. Right up front and foremost are the ever beckoning physical demands welling up and percolating to a crescendo: hunger pangs, a piercing headache or addiction cravings. Then there is the incessant nagging of our duties bullying us with guilt and anxiety: the report that was due yesterday, meetings to attend, birthdays to remember, bills to be paid and milk to buy on the way home. The urgent is ever drowning out the important. Indeed, it’s difficult to hear the whispers of the important amid the tumult of the urgent.
If you could peer at your timeline, like God does, really, would this lifetime be that significant in the grand scheme? Or could decisions we make here and now affect our eternal outcome? Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love illustrates this using a hundred foot rope which stretched from the back of the church to the podium where he held one end. He indicated that the one inch of red tape which wrapped the end he was holding represented our life on earth, while the rest of the rope represented our eternity.
I believe this presents a different perspective in delineating the urgent and the important. Indeed, it unveils the anterior questions: “what is it all about?” “why do I exist?” and “what is my purpose in life?” It’s easy to see how difficult it is in choosing the right task and method without knowing the real objective. Yet we do all the time. We make choices based on what we believe to be most important while blurring the line between the urgent and the important.
In light of our eternal destiny, the need to work extra overtime to pay for our latest gadgets or cosmetics wane to insignificance next to eternal expediences. It’s not a complicated decision. It doesn’t cost anything now – and yet it will cost you everything. But keep in mind, believing in God and an immaterial afterlife is not a ticket to heaven. Even Satan believes in God. In the gospel of John we read, “…all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them. All those who believe this are reborn!—not a physical rebirth resulting from human passion or plan—but from the will of God. (Jn 1:12-13) So, it’s a matter of accepting Him and believing in Him; but not just as the big guy up there, but as the one who once came to offer Himself as a final payment for our sin.
I remember hearing a story of a boy in North Korea who accidentally broke a window in his school. The principal of the school had instituted that if one damages school property, they must pay ten times its cost or be beaten to death with a rod. The boy came from a poor family. There wasn’t even enough them to put food on the table, let alone pay such an exorbitant fine. Although it was the principal himself who made this rule, he took pity on the boy and made the payment in full.
I believe this is what Jesus did for us. The payment, however, was not ten times the cost of a window, but our life eternally in hell. And the only one who could make this payment for us was God Himself. He paid for our sin with His own life, in the person of Jesus, the incarnate God. While crucified, nailed to a crudely hewed Roman cross He took upon Himself all the sin of mankind – your sin and mine. He expired and descended into the lower realms of the spiritual dimension – hell. Three days He spent paying for our sins. But death and hell could not hold Him. He didn’t go in payment for His own sin, as He was the spotless lamb of God and by the authority given Him by the Father, He rose again at the resurrection putting an end to death and hell to all who will receive His free gift of salvation. But, you see, a gift is not a gift until it is received. Will you now make this decision to receive His free gift of life? Your eternity rests in the balance.
If you are now ready to accept Him as full payment for your sin, your past mistakes and sinful nature will be forever forgiven. Pray with me now, as we talk with our Father.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I’ve made many mistakes in my life. I can never pay for all my sin and ask you now to forgive me of my sin and wash me so I’ll be whiter than the snow. I believe in You Jesus and accept you into my life. I will now follow You as you lead me in this life and through to eternity. Thank you Father for your awesome gift of grace.
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:7 that whoever is “in Christ” is a new creation. Your old self was crucified with Christ and your new nature is preserved in Christ. This is why it is called “a new birth” and new believers are said to have been “born again”. Nothing is this life could compare to the paramount decision to submit to God and believe in Christ as your new Life – real Life.
If this is you, you now have a new master, a new Father, a new savior and a new Life. God’s life now indwelling as the Holy Spirit. He’s there now, to help you and guide you through the rest of your journey. Talk to Him all the time. Ask Him anything in line with His plan for you and it will be granted. Sing, and praise Him with other Christians and learn more by reading His Word. God bless you in your new life.
Finding True Christianity 