I have a friend that is "out of duty" with the Lord. It is not hard to love him; he will do anything for you—he really would give you the shirt off his back. He hasn't met with the church in years; there are just other priorities for Him—things that in and of themselves aren't sinful. When I saw him the other day, I didn't ask him about getting back with brethren; I asked when he would get back with the Lord… in context, implying that we were getting older, and shortly would be called to account: "…we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad," 2 Cor 5:10.
You see, while he had done (and was doing) a lot of really good things, none of them would make a difference at the end of his life—his unforgiven sin has made a rift between him and his God. Fellowship with brethren in Christ is good, but he needed fellowship with Christ Himself, and you don't get that by doing good things. A Christian makes Christ the center of his life, and doing good will naturally follow. In fact, it is expected: "…by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them," Eph 2:8-10.
My friend said that he thought about his situation a lot; nearly every day, in fact—but even so, he didn't know that he would have lived any differently. However, you can't simply "add Jesus" to your life; for the Christian, He is your life: Paul wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me," Gal 2:20.
We are all getting older; we can't stop or even slow the passage of time. Swift changes in our nation, our homes, as well as our own health and that of our family should spur each one of us on to address our spiritual condition. King David long ago reflected, "Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; surely every man at his best is a mere breath," Psa 39:5. God wants all of us to repent, and come back into fellowship with Him; but that patience has an end: "…the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up," 2 Pet 3:10.
Dear reader—friend—you don't know whether you have 50 years, five years, or even five minutes until your personal meeting with the Lord. Either you will die, or He will return; as far as you are concerned, it doesn't matter which it may be. If you are not in fellowship with Him; if sin is still held to your account, that last day will be a time of absolute terror for you. Paul the Apostle expressed his concern, saying, "Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men…" 2 Cor 5:11a. You can continue to put off humbling yourself before your creator; but there will come a time, all too soon, when it will be too late, as it was for Esau, "For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears," Heb 12:17. Won't you prepare yourself to meet the Lord?
