Aaron, the brother of Moses, remained with the Israelites while his brother ascended the mountain to talk with God and receive the Ten Commandments. When Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people became impatient and said, Let us make gods, who shall go before us.
Ironically, God had gone before them and provided for their every need, yet in their rebellion and ingratitude, they convinced Aaron, a man of God, to give into their persuasions and join them in their sin of making an idol—a golden calf—and fornicating before their false god.
Like the Israelites who grew impatient for Moses’ return, the world has grown impatient and cynical of the Lord’s soon return. They say, “His return has been predicted for over 2,000 years. It could be another 2,000 years.” Unfortunately, many charlatans have given dates and years of Jesus’ return when Jesus said, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:26).
Jesus did give us clues to what must happen before His return, and those things are now in place. So, just like the Israelites who gave up on Moses and turned to a false idol and debauchery, the current world refuses to wait on the Lord with patience and holiness. Instead, they embrace false idols (anything that takes hold of the heart and replaces God), sexual sins, perversions of every kind, and all the world’s offerings that provide a vast menu of gratifications and pleasures.
Sin is the main reason for the world’s departure from God, which has been bolstered by the belief that the Bible is antiquated, irrelevant, and outdated; therefore, God is outdated. However, God has made it clear that “[He] is not human, that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19). “The Lord is faithful to ALL His promises and loving toward all He has made” (Psalm 145:13). For all the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ. And so, through Hm, our “Amen” is spoken to the glory of God (2 Corinthians 1:20).
The Israelites corrupted themselves because they did not believe God’s promises. We see the world free-falling deeper into depravity. So, we must ask ourselves, “Is my life being lived in a way that pleases God as I await the return of His Son, Jesus Christ?” Even if He doesn’t return in our lifetime, we are called to be ready and prepared as though He could come at any moment, at any day. The unsaved should heed Jesus’ warning: “Be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him” (Matthew 24:44).
How can we be ready? God provided the way for escape from judgment. That way is Jesus Christ (John 14:6). By repenting of our sins and accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are granted forgiveness of sins, mercy, and salvation with the promise of everlasting life (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9). The next step is to live for Him and not for the world. We are to be sober-minded and watchful, for our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (I Peter 5:8). “ Don’t put it off; this is “the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:19) .
It was the late seventies, and I had made an appointment with a hair solon where the owner had the reputation of being exceptionally talented with long hair. As most do when sitting in the stylist’s chair, we struck up a conversation. Somehow, we gravitated to the subject of Christianity. I asked the young man if he had ever given his life to Jesus. His response was, “I have all my life to do that. I just want to have fun right now.” Two weeks later, I learned that he had died in a motorcycle accident shortly after our conversation. I will never know, if at that last minute of his life, he had time to accept Christ.
Recently, I heard the Reverend David Jeremiah speak about “procrastination,” which is the act of putting off or delaying or deferring an action to a later time. He was speaking about the fact that God gives every human being an opportunity to accept or reject Christ. And that the word, “tomorrow” is the “deadliest word because God clearly tells us that we are not guaranteed tomorrow. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). The alternative is to live for a world, controlled by Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4).
My conversation with this young hairstylist who wanted to have fun first and then become a Christian had been convinced by the enemy that he had all the time in the world. He did not know that Satan’s agenda is to gather souls for hell.
The enemy has managed to weave elaborate lies to convince the world that Christianity will put them in bondage and deprive them of fun. Nothing could be further from the truth. Before sin entered the world, Adam and Eve lived in a God-created utopia and lacked no good thing. Unfortunately, Satan injected doubt and unbelief into Eve’s mind and convinced her that God was a withholder of good things. Unfortunately, she took the bait, and that same bait is still held out to people to capture their hearts and put them in bondage to fear, doubt, worry, and to a world that offers false promises.
God gives every human being, at one point in their life, the opportunity to verbally confess to Him that they are a sinner, to repent, and accept Christ as Lord of their life. Remember, John the Baptist shouted, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2) Heaven and hell are literally one breath away. Those who reject Jesus and refuse to live a life that honors God, will suffer an eternity separated from Him.
Christ could come today, but would we be prepared and ready for Him. We need to ask the question, “Will He know me?” Jesus warned us that “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21-22).
We are not guaranteed tomorrow, so God wants us to live full and rewarding lives today with truth, integrity, and purity in partnership with Him. Today, we must have full assurance within our soul that God will surely know us and welcome us into His Kingdom.
PRAYER: FATHER, if there is anything within me that you see as wicked, please reveal it to me so that I may repent and turn from it. I want to be all that You created me to be while on this earth. Help me to follow you with my whole heart, so that I am not seduced by the attractions of the world. In Jesus name, amen.