Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Can You Really?

About 18 months ago it was brought to my attention that someone had fallen off the grid in regards to church attendance and so I was asked to meet with them and I did. Its no one that you would know but just for the sake of discussion let’s say it was a she. She assured me that I had nothing to worry about that she still believed in God and the Bible but that she was going to take some time off from the Christian lifestyle. She figured that she has plenty of time and that at any point in the future she can simply clean up her lifestyle, grow up, become spiritually mature again and get involved in church again.
The question is…is it true?

It wasn’t for Samson. He was anointed but had two flaws that he never overcame: revenge and women. One day, finally, the Bible says, (Samson said) “I will go out as at other times an shake myself free but he did not know that the Lord had left him.” Judges 16:20. Later of Saul, who was also anointed but tended to simply do things his own way it is said, “but now your Kingdom will not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 1 Sam 13:14

I think she’s deceiving herself and that she may go down in history as just one more young adult who thought that by doing her own thing she was getting what she really wanted in life only to waste away some of her most foundational years and placing her future at risk.

So, can you really just turn spiritual maturity on and off like a light switch?

You see, I don’t know for sure if you can. Be forgiven and receive mercy? Absolutely yes. God is the God of the 2nd chance-we all know about this via Jonah and that He is able to restore the years that the locust consumed. Got it. What I’m talking about is wasted time and opportunity. Ps 90:12 says,
“Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom”. (Interestingly its not number our years, but days). Unlike knowledge, wisdom is the possession of good judgment and moral insight. Its’ acquired by being a good steward of our days

Jesus said that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy (Jn.10:10). I believe time is one of the things the enemy tries to steal from us. So, may we humbly number and steward our time by seeing each day as a gift from God so that we acquire a heart of wisdom.