Tomorrow Never Comes

Luke 12:20 But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' (NKJV)

Why does it always take death to remind us the importance of living life? More importantly the importance of looking beyond this life. I find it so sad that so many are blinded by the lies the world sells. When we look around the world what do we see? War, poverty, suffering God there has to be more than this. And there is. A lot of devotionals delve into the deeper theological issues we face, or how to live more spiritually mature but not today. Today we have lost someone and it is important to remember the basics.

There is heaven and there is hell. There is a destination for us when our time on this earth has finished. I know the world has done a good job of making these facts into caricatures but the truth is that one day we will all be held to account:

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. Matthew 25: 31-34

There is a kingdom awaiting us since the creation of the world. The Book of Revelation says that there will be no more suffering and pain and that God will wipe every tear from our eyes. But just as assuredly as there is a heaven, there is also a hell:

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1: 18-20

Men will be without excuse. The very nature of creation screams that there is a Creator. I have never understood how an atheist can look at a sunset or a waterfall and think; "random!" God's invisible qualities have been clearly seen by all. Some choose to accept it and some choose to reject it. There are always consequences for the choices we make. An eternity spent with God or an eternity spent separate from God. That is what hangs in the balance.

While we are being very honest about the basics, the hard truth is that we are rebellious by nature. We want to make our own rules up. God has set forth what He has required. He is the creator, so He gets to make the rules:

"Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'He has no hands'? Isaiah 45:9

Yet look around the world and see how much quarreling is being done with God. Religions are established by man with the express purpose of defying God. God is recreated in the image of man. To fit the sins that they do not wish to give up. Even western Christianity loses its way all the time. Replacing the riches of God with the prosperity of man. Valuing the temporal over the eternal. Watering down the Gospel in an attempt to be "seeker friendly." It is real simple. We have a sin problem. Not a self-esteem problem. Not a political problem. We have a sin problem that separates us from God. The only way to solve that sin problem is through the blood of Jesus Christ which was shed for the remission of our sins. If you do not acknowledge the sin problem, then there is no consequence for sin. Without a consequence for sin, there is no need for a Savior. Without a Savior, man is simply making it up as he goes along, whistling all the way to hell.

I do not say these things joyfully. I say them because they are not said enough. I have family members who are unsaved. I have friends who are unsaved. Yet this world continues to convince us that time is unlimited. That we can always take care of witnessing tomorrow. We can always take care of sharing the Gospel tomorrow. We can always take care of the business of God tomorrow. The problem is that tomorrow never comes. Not on this earth. Tomorrow is always in the future. A promise that seems so close but never really materializes. The illusion of time is one of the greatest tricks the devil pulls on us. But this is how the Bible describes our time here on earth:

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. James 4: 13-16

Our life is but a vapor. Here today and gone tomorrow. This lesson escapes us all too frequently. It escaped the rich fool, the parable of which gives us today's key verse. It speaks to the selfish nature of man. Constantly preparing for a future that God has not promised nor guaranteed. Poor in the present towards others and toward God but rich in his plans for the future and himself. Doesn't that describe us all from time to time? Doesn't it describe the world mindset too well? The world perspective is very me-centric and it infiltrates the church as well. We are supposed to God-centric. Because the time is short and we do not know when God will say to us that our life is required. But what appears to us as an ending is merely the beginning:

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. 1Corinthians 15: 42-44

Through our natural bodies we are promised but one thing. That we will die. Through our spiritual bodies however lay all the promises of God. Our Savior conquered the very grave we all still fear somewhere in our mortal selves. That is where the victory lies:

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Corinthians 15: 54-57

Victory beloved. If you are saved today by the blood of Jesus Christ then death has no sting. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. But so many of us are just as afraid to live as we are to die. Fear is never of God. We are given only so many years in this life. I do not have the reason why; only God does. I do not know why some are called home sooner than others; only God knows. What I do know is that while we are here, we should live our lives in the freedom Christ provides to do the work He has called us to do.

But the enemy to our souls is real. The Bible describes him as such:

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1Peter 5:8

I have seen the devil devour many. Satan is good at distraction. He tries to distract us from God, from the calling God has on our lives, from the work God has called us to do, and from the realities of the limitations time places on those calls. This life is not about our 401K. It is not about the politics that divide us but rather the belief that unites us. Jesus Christ died for our sins and because of it; we have eternal life NOW. We need to use that eternal life now. It is not about convincing the world that they are immoral or unrighteous. We are equally immoral and unrighteous. It is about sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it has changed who we are, how we live, and how we will die one day in victory. It is about showing them the foot of Calvary's cross, not beating them over the head with it.

Why does it always take death to remind us about the importance of living life? God took home a precious soul today. We grieve the loss but are comforted by what we believe. There will be no more suffering. There will be no more pain. Every tear will be wiped away. All that is left for us to do is to remember the fragility of life, attest to the goodness of God, and lead as many people to the foot of the cross before all of our lives are required.

Reverend Anthony Wade July 10, 2010

Postscript - There was a time when I was wondering why I write. Satan always tries to meddle in our thought processes and make us question the work God has us doing. In the middle of this period of questioning, God sent someone to encourage me. She did not know why she sent me the email. She did not have to because God uses what He will to accomplish what His design is. She said that my writing had restored her faith and at that moment I realized that I have nothing to do with it. If no one answers ever again, I will just do what God asks me to do. The point is though that in the midst of this woman's pain and suffering she encouraged me. She still encourages me. She will always encourage me. Thank you God for allowing the extra time we had with her. Alex, even though we miss you, I rejoice because for you - tomorrow has come.

AW.