“Behold,
now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Cor. 6:2b
We returned to Colorado a little over a week ago. The route we took is our favorite between
northwest Iowa and Loveland: Highways 44 and 18 across beautiful South Dakota,
through Rosebud Indian Reservation, to the high plains of western Nebraska and
southern Wyoming. Not a lot of people
live along that route, nor do many people travel there. There aren’t many restaurants or designated rest areas, either. Right in
the middle of those vast, beautiful spaces, my husband and I heard a little
voice from the back seat: “I have to go to the bathroom.” And as icy, snow-packed mile after mile crawled
by, the need to find a bathroom (and the voice in the back seat) became more
and more urgent.
You and I often fail to properly
rank things according to their importance and their urgency. I think that’s especially true of our
generation, for we enjoy incredible prosperity and consequently – believe it or
not – an unsurpassed amount of leisure time.
A text message, telephone call, and conversation with a Christian friend
could all be important. But when that
text message comes in the middle of studying for an exam, studying for the exam
is more important, and more urgent. When
the telephone rings during family devotions, devotions are more important, and more
urgent. If the conversation with a
friend comes at the cost of delaying the discipline of your whiny or
temper-tantrum-throwing child, you’ve judged incorrectly regarding which
important thing was more urgent. And,
sadly, you and I are often guilty of taking things that don’t even belong on
the “important” list and making them urgent.
We sin when neglect to do those things that are truly urgent immediately,
for God calls us to steward our time for his glory.
It’s as if the year 2014 is one of
those South Dakota bluffs that overlook the great Missouri. 2015 stretches out like the Great Plains to
the East. And there is one voice that is
more urgent than all the others: that voice is the gospel’s urgent call. Don’t let that voice remain in the backseat.
To you who are unconverted, the call
of the gospel is the command to repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can save you from the
wrath of God in this life and in the life to come. To you who are converted, it is the call to daily repent of your sins and trust in
Christ’s righteousness. Legalism does
not merit with God. Nor have you been
saved to carnal license. You now live in
the liberty of the Spirit: you’ve been freed to serve God.
There are certain disciplines we
must exercise if we are to treat that gospel call with its proper urgency. We must attend the preaching of the
gospel. We must study the Scriptures. We must be constant and fervent in prayer. We must do these things today, and every
day. They are urgent, for you and I know
not what may be on the morrow. “Seek ye
the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: let the
wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him
return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he
will abundantly pardon” (Is. 55:6-7).
So
heed the gospel’s call today when you’re tempted to open Facebook before you’ve
opened your Bible. Remember the freedom
to which you’ve been saved when you’re tempted to use a sharp tongue. Hit your knees before you hit the sack. Redeem every moment of the time you’ve been
given, for the days are evil.
And
resist the temptation to make those things urgent which aren’t even important
at all.
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