Would you be able to communicate the Gospel successfully if you had all your bibles, notes, and books taken away from you tomorrow by flood, fire, or governmental oppression?
It is a question that we often never look at; certainly, not directly. Instead we say to ourselves, “tomorrow I will read my bible, tomorrow I will study out those verses, tomorrow…”
I wonder sometimes if we keep saying that because deep inside we know that there will always be a tomorrow, because we know that we are eternal beings. Our sense of eternity is warping our sense of temporal urgency.
The older I get, the more keenly I am aware that the ‘tomorrow’ argument just doesn’t hold water. It is a bag with holes. It is a vanity of the mind. If I don’t do it today, then I won’t do it when tomorrow comes; for, after all, then it would be ‘today’ again — and I have a habit of not doing things today.
Have our longer life spans lulled us into sleep. World conquerors of the past often times completed their destinies by the time they were twenty-five years old. But today, we start life at thirty-something. We have been given more time, and yet we only use it half as well when it comes to accomplishing our futures.
Do you know how long it takes to become an ‘expert’ on something? About 5 years. That means that in your lifetime you could become an expert on 16 different fields of endeavor; assuming that you live to be 90 years old.
Is it really the case that we ‘do not have enough time’ or is it just that we have become cracked hourglasses that let the sand slide out of our lives onto the ground?
Is it possible that God has given us the knowledge to expand longevity because we need longer to come to the shocking realizations of the truth? Bright kids you can teach early, but slow students often have to spend more time in class. The more I think about it, it is not that we are waiting on God but rather that God is STILL waiting on us.
Jesus died at 33 years and 6 months. His ministry only lasted 3 years. His death on the cross only lasted 3 hours. He saved a world, conquered an enemy, and cared for millions in that short time. Now he is in heaven working on our behalf. Perhaps, if we hurry up and complete our callings and destinies, God will let us come home too.
Original Copyright: © Anthony J. Massotti Th.M., Th.M. 6/18/2000