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But it's all good. I'll start proclaiming the gospel when I get to high school. I'll be more mature then and equipped to share the gospel.
Well, what I meant was once I make it to college, I'll have so much free time it'll be easy to live for Christ then.
I'm in college, I'm supposed to enjoy this time. You know, discover myself and find out who I am. After I do that, then I'll "Go, therefore, and make disciples."
I just graduated, got married, moved to a new city, and started my career. Things are moving so fast right now. Once everything settles down and I get used to this new life, then I'll start "conducting myself in a manner that is worthy of the gospel."
We just had kids and things are crazy right now. I'll "look after orphans and widows in their distress" once we get a little more stable financially.
I just retired. I've been working all my life. I just need a little bit of time to exhale, then I'll get really into Jesus because I won't have any distractions to stop me.
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Maybe you've never said one of those phrases exactly, but the fact of the matter is, there's always an excuse not to. There will probably never be a time in life where everything just falls into place, the heavens open up, the glory of God shines on you, and following Him becomes easy and as natural as breathing. It's so natural for us to look into our future and think that there will be a time when all our desires and hopes and dreams will come true and then we can start following Jesus. But reality is, it only gets harder.
EVERY TIME. EVERY TIME. EVERY TIME. EVERY TIME. EVERY TIME
I open my mouth I want to fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. Don't put it off. There will never be a time, this side of heaven, when it will become easier to live the gospel than it is right now. Don't buy into the ploy of "next year...." or "once I get...." or "after I accomplish...."
The funny thing about this gospel procrastination phenomenon is that we are often times blind to it because all the while we are making these excuses, we're still in church. We still read our Bible. We don't do this. We do do that. We have substituted a life that is completely sold out to the cause of the gospel of Christ, for a veneer. Instead of allowing ourselves to be continually sanctified by the Spirit right now, we're convinced that occasional/passive/halfhearted obedience will suffice until _________.
Isaiah 58 is my favorite passage in all the Bible. In it, God rips into the ignorance of the Israelites and tells them what he expects of them. I see the same situation happening in the gospel procrastination phenomenon. In the midst of our procrastination, we often experience many spiritual highs--normally after a camp or a retreat or a conference. As we all know, these never seem to last very long. In my life, these spiritual highs often served the purpose of catapulting me just high enough so that I hadn't hit rock bottom at the time of the next camp, conference, or retreat. Life was lived from spiritual high to spiritual high, with extreme valleys in between. God says clearly in Isaiah 58 that this is not his plan: "is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself?" Of course not! God's idea of a life sold out to him consists of the following:
- to loose the chains of injustice and untie the chords of the yoke
- to set the oppressed free and the break every yoke
- to share your food with the hungry
- to provide the poor wanderer with shelter
- to clothe the naked
- to provide for and be available to your own family
- to do away with the yoke of oppression
- to spend yourself on behalf of the hungry
- to satisfy the needs of the oppressed
We have not time to waste because currently, the chains of injustice are as tight as ever. People are hungry. People are homeless. People are naked. Children don't know their own parents. And worst of all, people are lost. And lost means they're going to hell. If knowing that your best friend is going to hell does not motivate you to fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel every time you open your mouth, then nothing will.
To put it as bluntly as possible. We have no time to waste. Wherever you are in life, you can proclaim the gospel. You may not know what comes next in life, but you can make known the mystery of the gospel every time you open your mouth right where you are today. No excuses. The gospel must be proclaimed and it must be proclaimed now. If you choose to follow Christ, you do not have the luxury of doing it tomorrow, because people died without him today.
