Christian Living

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Are you among the people who hold an alternative point of view?

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” [Proverbs 27:1 NASB].

In some of our evangelical churches there is a noticeable lack of teaching on the certainty of believers and non-believers judgement, with the accompanying principle of individual accountability being applied and accounted for.

Now, in the light of this, it is interesting to realise that one of our enemy’s main weapons, is the postponing of divinely allocated and humanly apportioned time. For example, if you have something against someone, sometimes we are tempted to put it off until we meet him or her, and then we will put it right. So says, Mr well-intentioned.

However, Jesus said, in the Sermon on the mount, "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.” [Matt. 5.23-24 NASB]

Running parallel with him is Mr I-will-be-ready. Most of us have been in meetings where the presence of God was tangible and He specifically asks us to … the recipient goes home, settles down for the night. Tomorrow, he will discuss the family obligations with his leadership; the following night he assures himself, that God would have asked that of him, but not at this time. Therefore, He must have meant another time. He thought, “I will have to keep my spiritual and human emotions in check.”

He is followed closely by, Mr I-have-a-plan. God has spoken to this man about the future and therefore he is assured, in himself, that there is time. Some of us may fit in here. What is wrong with this perspective? God’s promises are conditional on a proper response. This is why some of the Corinthian believers passed over prematurely [1 Cor. 11.29-30].

The following inscription is engraved on John Wesley's tomb in Westminster Abbey, London. "God buries His labourers but His labour and work go on."

Some of us, at this time, may need to remember Paul’s word to the Romans, “I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me … Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.” [Romans 12.3-4 The Message]

Pen-ultimately, there is, Mr I-am-not ready and I don’t know if I will ever be ready. This man is acutely aware of spiritual vacuums in his life. However, the holistic Lord stands ready to help.

A few weeks ago, while in prayer, I had a vision of the Lord standing at the right hand side of a brother who was feeling weak. As I continued to look, He put out His right hand and gently placed it on his shoulder and I saw strength and power being imparted. He is near to those whose vision and strength are fading and failing.

And bringing up the rear is, Mr I-am-already-too-busy so I can safely leave until tomorrow what I cannot do today. I am sure that we can identify with this man / woman. In fact, we meet him / her every morning and evening. In that case, what do we need to do? Maybe some of us need to prioritise. Why, is this really important? In John 9.4, Jesus said, “The night is coming, when no man can work.” [David McArdle]

“From this we may learn:

1. That it is our duty to employ all our time in doing the will of God

2. That we should seek for opportunities for doing good, and permit no opportunity to pass without improving it

3. We should be especially diligent in doing our Lord’s work, from the fact that the night of death is coming.” [Albert Barnes]

Some of us may eventually warrant having the following words engraved on our tombstones, “Duty and today are ours; results and the future belong to God.” [Unknown]

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