There are a lot of things we consider to be urgent! We got to get out kids to practice on time, we can't be late for work, I'm sick I need to go to ER, or things of this nature. As a matter of fact, we live in a society of instant gratification, and there's an urgency to get our food fast, our groceries fast, and anything we order fast. But, what about our faith? What about our Witness? What about seeking and saving the lost and making disciples? Where is our sense of urgency?
At some point if you're a Christian you made a commitment to Christ, what happened? You treat church attendance and service like an option, you place so many personal hobbies and activities above your faith walk, and God gets shoved to the back of your life until he's an optional afterthought if I get in a bind and need something. There is something seriously wrong with this picture.
If you remember, the reason you got saved was so that you could have the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. The hope of Heaven. Grace. Mercy. Forgiveness of Sin. Hope of eternity. There was a time in your life where you realized you needed Jesus and His Church. You need both. But, what happened? Did you forget? Did your life get busy? Did your crisis end and you no longer needed God? Did the newness wear off? I don't know your situation, but we should never get tired, bored, complacent, or too busy for God, and we never should make anything a priority over our relationship with God and our service through His Church Body.
If you're saved you should want to go to church, serve God through the church, and you most certainly should want to be see lost people saved, and new Christians become fully devoted disciples(followers) of Jesus Christ. Many Christians and churches have lost their sense of urgency when it comes to our own faith and also to fulfilling the great commission or reaching the lost who don't know Jesus and helping make them into disciples.
Eternity is at stake. Salvation hangs in the balance. Both yours and those who need to hear, see, and learn about Jesus. It's time that we take our faith a lot more serious and start having a sense of urgency about growing in our faith and reaching out to those who don't know God. If we do not take our own faith serious, how are we ever going to care about or reach out to those who are lost and going to spend eternity without God if we don't care about our own selves, let alone them?
One thing I know as a Pastor, I cannot make people come to church, I cannot make people serve in the church, I cannot make people invite their family and friends to church, and I cannot save people. We need Christians to start taking their faith serious and until they do, they are not going to see a need to reach out to others if they don't even care about their own salvation or the salvation of their families.
We will run out kids to ballgames 6 nights a week, we'll drive hours to go to a concert, we'll even do something nice or kind for a neighbor that is not convenient, but then we can't bring our kids or family to church on a regular basis? We can't invite our co-workers or neighbors to church? We can't offer someone a ride to church? We can be a light or witness in our communities? I think we call can do better.
I pray today that each of you reading this blog will find a sense of urgency for your own salvation. I pray that you will discover a sense of urgency for people who are lost and going to hell unless people like you and me share our faith and invite them to church and to know Jesus. We need to develop a sense of urgency to see Christians become fully-devoted disciples and help people in their faith journey to grow. Whether we see it or not, there is an urgent need for Jesus. We do not know the hour or day or His return and we always need to be ready.
Ecclesiastes 9:12a(NIV)
"Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come."
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