Greetings Everyone
People often keep things of value hidden away in what they believe to be a safe place and will come back for them when they need them at a later time. This is essentially what believers do by safely hiding their lives in Christ only to receive them again at a later time. The sermon “Living Now or Living Later” is about the sacrificing exchange God requires for us to gain admittance into His Kingdom (Colossians 3:1-4).
Salvation in Christ involves making a choice between living in the present world seeking to fulfill our own desires and passions or abandoning them in order to take on the mission of seeking the lost for Christ. These two alternatives are in conflict so they both can’t be done even though many try. If we would be truthful with ourselves, many of us would have to confess that seeking the lost for Christ is not our main priority in life. Yet, this is what is needed in order to be in the will of God.
Instead of our affections being on the unseen riches of heaven, we focus on the riches of the here and now on earth and what many would call the “good life”. But Christians are told to set our minds or hearts on things above and not on things that are on the earth. God offers to keep our lives hidden in a safe place with Him in exchange for allowing Him to live His life through us here and now to help save humanity from destruction. The period of time God requires of our life is nothing in comparison to an eternity with Him.
One way to think about eternity is equating the choice to live for now as one second and the choice to live later all the rest of the seconds you have already lived and then some. The passage goes on to say that when Christ shall appear, the life you sacrificed and gave to Him for safe keeping will also appear with Him in glory. But make no mistake, if we decided not to place our life with God in Christ or attempted to simply work Christ into our lives while living them the way we wanted to, then our life will not appear with Him in glory because we chose to live now and not later.
So, does this mean that I have to live like a monk or hermit and enjoy or have nothing in this life? Absolutely not! God will supply everything we need and then some when we put Him and His mission to save the lost first. In fact, there is not a more fulfilling life than one spent in the service of God. Nothing is capable of giving more lasting satisfaction and joy than seeing lost souls come to God through Christ. To know that someone who was only going to live for a second is now going to live forever brings a joy that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
Our time we are required to give to God is about threescore years and ten or even fourscore on average. But what we get for what amounts to a second is an eternity with God. How can anyone who understands the stakes refuse such a deal! So, I urge you to join me in giving your life to God for safe keeping if you have not already done so and allow Him to use you to help spread the gospel and all the other things you and I need will be added unto us. Well, thanks for listening and remember to fear God and keep His commandments.
Pastor Jordan
