The time is now

By Jessica Brodie

Many of us, myself included, sometimes live life as if time is in never-ending supply. We mistakenly believe we will have the luxury, when we feel good and ready, to do whatever it is that’s been tugging at our hearts—take that trip to the Holy Land. Make amends with our brother or sister over a longstanding squabble. Surrender fully to the Lord’s leading and do whatever it is God is urging.

Yet we never know when we will breathe our last in this world. And while as Christian believers we know eternity with Jesus awaits us, there are countless stories of people in their last moments expressing regret over things left undone, fences never mended, stories never shared.

There’s an urgency expressed in Scripture we cannot ignore: The time is now.

“We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work,” Jesus said in John 9:4 (ESV). And in Matthew 24:42, he urged, “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” Proverbs 1:32 reminds us that “the complacency of fools destroys them,” while Romans 12:11 urges, “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”

The time is now—not tomorrow.

Indeed, tomorrow is not guaranteed.

For too long, our church and its people have been distracted from God’s good works by infighting, arguing over petty differences we’ve inflated into colossal issues, instead of uniting as one with God as our head to do God’s good work in the world. We mistakenly believe we have the luxury of time before whatever it is that Jesus alludes to—our final breath, the second coming—arrives, and we fritter away our minutes and cling to old grudges instead of channeling them intentionally into feeding God’s lambs or sharing the Good News far and wide.

Consider what Jesus said, over and over: Love God. Love each other. Believe in me, follow me and obey God’s commands. Serve and forgive others. Go and make disciples. Is this how we’re living our lives? If everything ended tomorrow, would we honestly be able to say, “Yes, Lord, I did what I could for you”?

I appreciate what Bishop Leonard Fairley said recently at a gathering of United Methodist men (Advocate, Page 1), urging those gathered to get back on track with where God is moving us.

“When you get in step with God, it’s when you see new things and new visions and new dreams,” Fairley said.

So let’s wake up, my friends. Let’s start working together for the good of God’s kingdom. Let’s get busy doing God’s work and stop wasting time on division and narrow, selfish concerns.

The time is now.