But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving up in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man... Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

Matthew 24:36-42, ESV

 

Procrastination! It is one of the greatest vices of mankind, as well as one of the most common. Now it's not always that bad. Sometimes it's just hitting that snooze button for five extra minutes of sleep or waiting until the night before the big test to begin your studies. These things cost us something, but we usually come out all right.

 

However, there is another type of procrastination that is fatal. It's that putting off of the things of importance where it comes to our eternity. We all have done it, at one time or other. Perhaps there is a sin in our life that we really do know we should take care of. Maybe we have put off becoming a Christian in the first place. Maybe we are already a Christian, but we just haven't gotten serious about it yet. Whatever the spiritual flaw is, we are simply waiting for a more convenient time. But I think we all know, deep down in our hearts, that there never will be a more convenient time.

 

Service to God was never intended to be convenient...

 

The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing that any would perish, but that all should reach repentance.

But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done in it will be exposed.

Since these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be...?

II Peter 3:9-11, ESV

 

Suppose for a minute that the Lord really did come, today. Right now! Would you be saved? This is a question that we all like to put off, but we need to give serious thought to: Are you saved? Are you sure? This is not a question that a "I'm pretty sure" or "I think so" answer will do. The Scriptures tell us that we can know we have salvation, so we need to know. I don't mean that we presumptuously take God's place in the Judgment. I'm just saying that as far as is humanly possible we must know whether or not we are in a saved condition.

 

Far too many of us have sin in our lives that has yet to be taken care of. Either we have failed to have our sins washed away in baptism, or we have failed to repent of a sinful lifestyle since that moment. We live our lives pretty much as we always have, it's true, and we do ask God for forgiveness when we think to. But we really don't have any sincere intentions of turning away from our sins just yet. We truly mean to get serious about our service to God, someday, just not this day. It's like that old country and western song that says. "We all want to go to heaven, but we don't want to go tonight". The implication is that we are comfortable in our sin to the point that we just don't see the need to do anything about them - at least not just yet.

 

But we do really need to think about it!

 

You really could die today - what then? The Lord really could come back in the next five minutes - what then? Have we ever seriously thought what it means to be lost? What if you were to go before the Judgement today? What if you heard the words you never wanted to hear? What if Jesus really did say, to His great sorrow and ours, "Depart from Me, I never knew you."? The fact is that these very things will happen to many people. The sad thing is that they know in their hearts that this is so. They just thought there would be more time! But there will come a point when there will be no more time... what then?

 

The point of all this is that we all need to sober up and realize that the end will come for us someday, whether on that Great Day when our Lord returns, or on a lesser day when you and I simply breath our last breath. It will come! The inspired question that Peter asked above is something we all need to be asking ourselves right now: "Since these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be...?"

 

The answer is clear! If we need to change, then we need to understand that this change cannot wait another minute. And it's not just because we might end up in Hell someday, though that is a big enough reason for most. The bigger reason is that God and Christ are worthy of our best efforts! They are worthy of our ceasing to do evil and seeking Their forgiveness. God has given us life in the first place, and Jesus has given us a second chance at eternal life through His shed blood on the cross. They are worthy!

 

And we have been procrastinating.

 

If that is the situation you find yourself in, then do something about it. If you are not sure what that something is, then get busy finding out. The New Testament has all the information we need for salvation - but we must be warned: There are no shortcuts! It will take real work on our part, and many religious leaders have already convinced some of us that work is not required, but only faith and grace. If that were really true, the New Testament would be reduced down to the simple sentence: Believe in Jesus and we'll see you in Heaven. 

 

But this is not the case. We are called servants for the simple reason that we are here to work. That work will never be enough to save us (That's where grace and faith come in) but the Word of God is clear that we are here to serve, so serve we must. So, get busy reading the Word. Find out what God expects of you, and then do it! We cannot afford to be living our lives of sin thinking that we are okay, that there is plenty of time remaining, only to hear those trumpets sound on that last day and find out that we are simply... too late!

 

What if you died today? Would you be ready? What if the Lord really did return at this very hour? These things are for sure going to happen someday. Again, the question must be asked, are you ready? 

 

The fact is that God has an eternity so beautiful for His faithful servants that we could not possibly even begin to imagine it. But, for those who are putting off their most important, yet unfinished business, there is another eternity. The wise man and woman will do something about these realities before it is too late. The good news is that God is patient with us, in fact, He has already been more than patient because of His great love for us. Let us do something in return for these great gifts. Let's live for Him starting right now!

 

It's something we all should consider while we still can, wouldn't you agree?