“I should have done that yesterday,” is a lament we probably have all made at one time or another. Sometimes, however, unattended responsibilities may prove embarrassing or even very costly.
There is always that moment when we are confronted with a choice to take action or to put it off until a later time. While there can be valid reasons for both approaches, eventual results will be the judge. If we are able to set clear priorities, our responses to life’s challenges will prove to be much more successful. Deciding what to do and when to do it can help us achieve our goals—both small and great.
There is absolutely no greater goal for us than entry into the Kingdom of God, and if God has called us now, that must be our number one priority! Jesus Christ gives this serious warning when He says, “‘There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and yourselves thrust out’” (Luke 13:28).
What could possibly cause people to be kept out of God’s Kingdom? The earlier verses in Luke 13 reveal that Christ did not know the people who thought they knew Him. As verse 27 shows, these people did not repent of their disobedience to God. They quite evidently knew better but didn’t take their opportunity seriously. They didn’t act when given the chance, as James writes, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).
Responding to God’s calling is more than just having an initial interest and beginning to obey God to an extent, but then never getting around to following through completely. This is, in effect, rejecting God, depending on how much one understood the Truth, and the Apostle Peter warns: “For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them” (2 Peter 2:21).
Now is the time for us to make our “call and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10). This admonition is both instruction to Christians and a warning. Being called by God and understanding the Truth at this time is our opportunity to enter the Kingdom of God and to be among the “firstfruits” of salvation.
God has chosen to call us NOW—“how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation” (Hebrews 2:3).
