07 12 07 How Long Will We Wait

“When I refused to confess my sin, my whole body wasted away, while I groaned in pain all day long………Then I confessed my sin………and You forgave my sins………For this reason every one of Your faithful followers should pray to You while there is a window of opportunity………the Lord’s faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in Him.” (Psalm 32:3-10)

I was reading this morning from Purpose Driven Life’s Daily Devotional and it was so pertinent to some things I am going through within my personal life and ministry. Perhaps it will help you grasp a little reality as well.

Back in the 19th-century, a missionary to China named Hudson Taylor said he was talking to a Buddhist leader, one who’d become a follower of Christ. The former Buddhist asked Taylor how long the gospel had been known in England. “For hundreds of years,” Taylor said. The new convert began to cry. He said, “For hundreds of years! My father sought the truth for more than 20 years, and he died without finding it. Why didn’t you come sooner?” And that question burned in Hudson Taylor’s soul as he thought about the millions of Chinese who’d never heard of Jesus Christ.

There are still more than 3,000 people groups in the world with no known church, no local witness, and no eternal hope. They’ve never heard about Jesus. Guess what? There are neighbors on our streets and members of our family who have never heard Jesus explained nor seen Him lived out in a real sense either! People we know die every day and go to hell because we were too embarrassed or afraid of losing their friendship or their respect. We’d rather have them lose their soul! HOW LONG WILL WE WAIT? Thank God for those of you, who care to share, invest your life, and not care about your reputation. Thank God for those of you who cared for me over the years!

“And do this (walk in obedience, in holiness, Romans 12:1-13:10) because we know the time, that it is already the hour for us to awake from our sleep, for our salvation is now nearer than when we became believers.” (Romans 13:11)

David and Paul both are talking to believers in their messages above. We can’t forget the consequences of sin in our life either. We must hold each other accountable to our decisions and be willing to risk friendship for the sake of the soul of those who believe. Only God knows the heart, so we should never assume anyone’s spiritual condition.

If David said, pray while there is still time and Paul said the day of salvation is near, how much closer are we today? HOW LONG WILL WE WAIT to reach the lost, the misled, the wanderer, and the confused? Is it worth the friendship, popularity, or embarrassment? Knowing a friend or family member has gone to hell is devastating: imagine how much more hurtful if we know we did nothing about it. Imagine now the joy, knowing we’ll see them again because we know without a doubt that they had a personal relationship with the Savior, JESUS CHRIST!