Sense of Urgency
Picture this: It’s 12:35 on Tuesday afternoon and you just finished that assignment you needed to do before your 1 pm class. Being proud of what you did, you tell yourself it’s Tuesday, so #TreatYoself, we’re going to Chick-Fil-A. Guess what? Everyone and their moms, literally, were thinking the same thing, but you go and order anyway. At this point you’re convinced Jesus will come back quicker. Just when you’re ready to pack your things and go, they finally call your number! Now it’s it’s 12:55 and your class is on the other side of campus. So you hit feet. You’re practically running at this point. And as if nothing else could go wrong, there’s now people in front of you who don’t care if they’re late or not, so they’re walking as if they’re in a slow-mo video. Don’t they understand that you’re late to class?! Couldn’t they hear your quick footsteps approaching?! Why are they living their lives with no sense of urgency?!
What I described earlier is all too familiar to me. Okay, yes, maybe it is my fault that I was late to class and maybe if I planned better I would’ve been on time. The real focus, though, is that last question: Why are they living their lives with no sense of urgency? Why are we living our lives with no sense of urgency?
In Matthew 3:2 John the Baptist said, “Repent of your sins, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” Do you see what John is doing here? John knew and believed that the Messiah was coming soon, so he was obedient and went to make sure people were aware of what is to come. Not only was he fulfilling the words of Isaiah (see chapter 40), but he was also using his life to make sure more people came to know who God was and would not waste their lives any longer.
We, as Christians today, need to do the same. We need to live life with a sense of urgency. It’s great that we know God. It’s honestly a wonderful thing. But how do we know who God is? Because there was a bold someone in our lives who told us that it was time to stop wasting our lives, to stop trying to do things in our own strength, to stop trying to fill ourselves with things that would never satisfy us, and come to Christ. Someone who knew the true love of God and loved it so much that they could not keep it to themselves. It’s not just enough for us to know who God is for ourselves. Jesus not only paid the price for our sins, he also made disciples, who went out to spread the Good News and make more disciples, who then did the same!
I have talked, a few times on here, of how there are people who know of Christ but don’t really know Him and how they’re waiting on “the right time”. But what about us that know Him already? Why aren’t we more urgent in going out to tell more people the Gospel? It’s cool to tweet some gems and go to conferences and worship in our households, but how are we actually reaching out to people? And if we’re not, what’s holding us back? We cannot wait until we’re older, tomorrow is not guaranteed. We should not wait until we “have it all together” because if we did have it all together, we wouldn’t need Christ! And we can’t blame it on our current age, because 1 Timothy reminds us that we cannot allow people to look down on us because of our youth. God didn’t choose to pursue you when you were older, He chose now. He didn’t wait until you were all fixed, He specializes in using the broken. He would never avoid you because of your youth, He’s used, and continues to use, so many people in their young age. So what am I saying? The time is now. It’s time to not only talk about saving souls, but to actually go out and do so. There’s people in our neighborhoods, our schools, maybe even in our families who need to know about God and the love He has for them. You could be the one who helps them make the best decision of their lifetime.
Don’t delay. Ask God to give you the boldness to go out and make disciples of many nations. There’s no reason He wouldn’t do it, it’s what Jesus commanded us to do. He wouldn’t ask you to do it, if He didn’t believe that you could. Believe in yourself and the One who gave you the command.
Much love always,
Kumam