Time is something that we have no control over. We can use it well or waste it, but we cannot get it back. Many people believe that they have all the time in the world to live their lives the way that they want to, and as long as they are good people, then things are going to be all right. We see the smaller picture, what is in front of us, but we fail to see the bigger picture. There is an unseen battle going on around us every day, and time is certainly on no one’s side.
There are times when I have spoken to people about Jesus, and they have readily believed in Him, but were unwilling to give their lives to Him just yet. They still wanted to live their lives their way and felt that Jesus would ‘stifle their vibe’. I have listened to them give me a bunch of reasons as to why they cannot come to Jesus yet, and these are the main ones:
I still want to have fun!
That life sounds too difficult for me.
I don’t like being religious.
I’m still too young for that kind of commitment.
I have too many things that I want to accomplish before being born again.
No amount of Truth or explaining will sway their opinion because of one significant factor: repentance. You see, you can believe, but if you are not willing to turn away from your sins, then you are not willing to repent. A person can be aware that they are sinning, but if there is no conviction within them to help them understand the terrible situation they are in, then repentance is not about to happen.
Of course, some people do not believe that they are bad people. However, what do they mean by ‘bad’? We all have a conscience which tells us right from wrong, but when we begin to rate how bad our actions are instead of acknowledging that they are a sin, we are in trouble. We all know, or should know, that it is wrong to steal, kill, look at a woman or man with lust, covet someone else’s belongings, to lie, and the list goes on. Whether or not a person is aware of the Ten Commandments, our conscience is innately aware of moral values. Obviously, as we grow older and get away with these sins, we begin to justify them more and more, giving evidence to our depraved state of mind.
I guarantee you that there is not a soul alive that has not committed one or more of these sins. It does not matter how socially accepted the sins are or how many times you get away with it, GOD will judge us according to the sins we have committed. Once we are judged and found guilty (which is a definite), we will be thrown into the fiery lakes of hell. It is only belief and repentance that will save us, and even then we need to remain steadfast in our faith because the devil doesn’t mess around, he’s out for our souls.
Think of it this way: when you stand before a judge for a crime you have committed, he is going to judge you on the offence, not on how good you believe you are. No amount of giving to the poor is going to take away the fact that you stole from your boss. According to Scripture, when we go against what GOD has stated in His Word, then we have sinned- there are no two ways about it.
People say to Jesus ‘not right now’, having no idea if they will live to see another day. When they stand before GOD to give an explanation for their failure to come to Him, the excuse ‘but I do believe in you LORD, and I’m a good person’ is not going to cut it. Even the demons know that He Is and they are terrified of Him. They fully understand what He is capable of. In the futility of our minds, we fail to recognise just who Jesus is, thinking that His love is going to let us get a pass into heaven. Yes, GOD’S love for us was demonstrated in the fact that He sent His only Son to die for our sins, that if we believe in Him, we will be saved. But if you are not going to come to Him with repentance in your heart for your sinful ways, then you do not understand His sacrifice.
Yes, our lives as Christians are not easy. We face trials and tribulations because our enemy, the devil, hates us. He hates mankind already, but he truly loathes Christians because we have the power of Christ within us. However, we must give our lives to Christ so that we may have life, we must put Him before everything else in our lives or else we are not worthy of Him. At the end of the day, we are either going to spend eternity with our King and Saviour, or an eternity in hell with endless suffering. Stop looking at your life and focus on Jesus, or you might as well not have a life.
