Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the extent of my days, let me know how transient I am. Behold, You have made my days as handsbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight, surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Psalm 39:4-5
The Bible tells us that Jesus summed up God’s law in essentially four words: Love God, Love People. Take a moment to ponder that: do we really love Jesus with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength?
We tend to be like Janis Joplin with Jesus: we’ll give him a little piece of our heart… but we want to control the rest.
Jesus didn’t die on the cross to be our spiritual assistant. He didn’t die so that we could tell Him what to do. Jesus died to be the Lord—the leader—of our entire life: heart, mind, soul, and strength. If God rarely makes you uncomfortable, chances are that your whole heart isn’t turned toward Him. Jesus is either God or He isn’t. Jesus is either Lord or He isn’t. Jesus is either worthy of our whole lives or none of them. Why? Look at the cross. He gave everything He had on the cross—He took the punishment that should have been ours, He suffered in our place, He took God’s wrath off of us and onto Himself, He took away our sin, our guilt, and our shame. And yet, how do we usually live?
- I’ll go to church, but I won’t stop having sex with my girlfriend/boyfriend.
- I’ll pray when life is tough, but I won’t seek God daily.
- I’ll read the Bible when I have time, but I won’t make it a regular habit.
- I’ll accept God’s love for me, but I won’t take a risk to show it to others who need it.
- I won’t commit actual adultery, but I won’t deal with the issue of porn.
- I’ll be thankful for what I have, but I won’t be generous.
- I’ll thank Jesus for being my Savior, but I want to be the Lord of my own life.
It’s no wonder that we tend to have a weak faith, that we turn from God when life gets tough, and that the church as a whole has a bad rep with those outside it.
All the while, people are dying to know if God is real.
People are dying to get rid of their guilt and regret.
People are dying for a purpose that’s bigger than themselves.
People are dying, period.
Without God. Without Jesus. Without hope. Their 30 days is up.
The only way we can turn the tide is if we allow Jesus to take over our entire life—to give him our entire heart, messed up and selfish as it is. The wonderful thing about God is His love and grace. It’s never too late to let Him change you. He’s ready, willing, and able to forgive us and to change our hearts. But we must let Him do so now.
If we’re to live in the moment, we must:
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Turn our “whens” into nows…
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Turn our intentions into actions…
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Turn our whole heart towards Jesus… now.
