Luke 12:20a (NIV®)
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.’”
Have you ever wondered about folks who, out of the blue, have terrible things happen to them? One minute they’re buying groceries or having dinner with family and the next minute they are homeless, jobless, or even lifeless. We never think it will happen to us. I hear of those things and sometimes stop and wonder what I or my family would do if that were me. Have you thought about it? Have you been that person?
Our family experienced the tragedy of a 35 year old father of five dying suddenly in his sleep. It is unimaginable, awful, and heartbreaking. Even though I had several conversations with him about God, and encouraged Him to give his heart to Christ, I was never sure where he stood. I’m still not. The only thing worse than not knowing where someone is going to spend eternity is knowing that they are not going to Heaven. So today’s thought is really a call to action.
We can’t save someone else. Only God can do that. But we need to talk about our faith, our salvation, and the reality of God, heaven and hell to those we love. Whether it is spoken out loud and in person or written on paper so they can revisit it later, we need to make sure everyone has opportunity to know Jesus and be secure in where they will spend eternity.
Do you struggle with finding a starter to that conversation? Use mine. Our family had no idea this would happen. He had no idea. But one minute he was here and the next minute he was gone. Tell your family and friends about it. Let that be the starter for a conversation that will get everything out in the open. If you’re not sure how to help them make that eternal transaction – visit the “How To” page on this website. Tell them you want them to be ready. Tell them they need to be sure. Tell them you don’t want to lose them forever. If you have never made the decision to follow Christ, go to that webpage – it will guide you. Do not wait.
You may be blessed with a long life like my 91 year old aunt but none of us have that guarantee. I may not be here next week or even tomorrow. I don’t want to assume life will move at a “normal” pace and be ill-prepared for the surprises that may come. We are not promised tomorrow. All of our timelines are indefinite and we need to be ready. At some point our name will be called – ready or not.