Is it time yet? I’m not in a hurry for it to be time yet, but I know, eventually it will be time. Some clocks tick slower than others, some take longer than others but when it is time, it is time. When it is time, time will be no more. All the time there is will not allow for there to be more time. There will be a discussion held in the heart of every man, women or child when it is time. That discussion will be based on the discussions which have been held in their hearts for as long as there has been time. Every time that discussion has been held it was discussed in the time that was there, waiting for the time when it was time and time was no more. Is it time yet?
For some that discussion will go like this. “But I thought…” It is so very sad for you that you have been misinformed. Look at what it has cost you. It is not what is best for you, but it is what it is. You can’t run from it or hide from it. It is what you have chosen within what you have been given to work with. Perhaps you would have liked for the results to be different. You see others for whom it is better. They seem to have chosen something better. Your choice has brought you to this time. Where joy could have been known, sorrow won out. Where peace was desired conflict arose. When strength and comfort should have been enough, they weren’t.
Somehow the ON button did not work, the GO button didn’t get it started and the volume knob was attached to nothing. Those speakers didn’t speak truth; that freedom didn’t free you, and in the end, the empty promises were just promises of emptiness. Someone wrote a sign that said “Life; some assembly required”. Some assembly required meant a college degree is insufficient, great mechanical ability was not good enough. Only the Master’s Degree of omnipotence is good enough.
Knowing a thing and believing a thing and doing a thing are so very different. Saying I will when you were told you “must not”, is not independent thinking. It is disobedience. The Lord does not have to like what you did in order to love you and appreciate the potential that is in you. In the butcher’s shop the choice cut is the best. Why would you choose less? Some things on your table are just a different flavor, not a better one.
Contrary to the popular opinion of those who got it wrong, life does come with instructions. The creator of life, the one who put a desire in you for love and right things also gave you the limits and boundaries to keep you from walking off the cliff. He even had someone write it down in a language you could read and understand. Then He had someone care enough about His love for you that they told you about it and showed you how it could be done. Contrary to the popular opinion of those who got it wrong there are instructions for parenting; for a happy marriage; for the meaning of life; for what your ambitions and dreams should be; for what you should eat and what you should drink and where you should go and with whom.
The sign that says STOP is not placed there to keep you from great blessings. It is there to provide blessings. It is not enough that you know the sign is there. It is not enough that you can read and understand the sign. It is not even enough to say that you believe the sign. It is only enough when you obey the sign and adhere to its purpose. The stop sign is based upon a truth which cannot be changed. In fact truth itself can never be changed. It can be ignored, not believed or believed but truth can never become “not truth”. No matter how many believe a lie it can never become truth and no matter how long truth is not believed, it can never become not truth. Did you believe the truth or the lie?
The truth is that when it is time, there will be another discussion happening for some. That discussion will go something like this. “I know you. I love you. You have chosen right. It is time for you to enter into the joy of your lord.” Some who have that conversation may say “Lord, when did I choose right? When did I do the things which allow me to enter into your joy?” Then they Lord will say “When you believed me and walked in my ways and knew that I was the only way to Heaven. When you knew in your heart that I was the truth. When you believed that the death of sin in your wicked heart could be replaced by the eternal life which I promised from before the world began. When you asked me to be your God and your Savior, then you began to walk in my ways.”
To those who protest and say “But Lord, we did good things sometimes; like when we were kind and tried to keep your rules and did the best we could. So why can’t we enter in?” He has an answer. Even though you were in the church and sang the songs and taught the words of the Bible, you never believed. The Bible says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved and your family. You believed that you were not bad enough to need a Savior. The Bible said one thing and you believed another. Have you ever known someone who wanted a room painted a certain way? Say, white with red trim? What could they have done to ensure you understood that the only way for it to be right is if you obeyed their instructions to accomplish their desire? When the red paint and the white paint were next to the sign that said pink is not acceptable, why would you mix the colors? It is only the right color when those who paint obeyed the truth. Painting that room any other color or pattern than the owner required would not be acceptable.
So why would anyone expect God, the creator of the universe, to accept some other way than He has said is the right way? When it is time, why would anyone expect the conversation to be any different? Who has hindered you that you have not believed the truth? God made it plain. God sent Prophets and preachers and people from all walks of life to show and tell His love and His plan. His plan is for every sin to be cleansed and paid for by the shedding of blood. His plan is that He sent His Son Jesus to satisfy His holy demand for the sin you chose to do to be paid for. His plan is to allow everyone to enter into His eternal reward in heaven who accepts His way, His plan, His Son. He did all this so when it is time to have that conversation, you might have the better one and not the other.
What if you were to pray this prayer to God: “Lord, I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died to pay for my sin. I accept Him as my Savior. I ask you to forgive me. I believe you raised Him from the dead. I ask you to save me from your wrath against my sin. Please come into my life and be my Lord. Amen.”
If you do this before it is time, then when it is time, you will be having the better conversation.
Is it time yet?