What are you going to do today that matters? I believe followers of Jesus bear the responsibility to ask this question every day. Whatever else we might do today, we’ve got to make it count for Jesus. It’s unbelievable how we’ve allowed ourselves to be co-opted into the culture and we now spend every waking hour, and pretty much every dollar, on things having no eternal value. Friends – Church! – we must wake up.
Real people, individuals just like you and me, are dying and going to Hell every day of our lives. They are going to Hell because no one told them there was a better way. No one told them no matter what they had done, they were not beyond the love of Jesus. No one told them because we didn’t tell them. We let the day pass by, and we didn’t make it count.
My heart aches when I think about how much of my life I have wasted. I have spent too many years pursuing things society told me were the keys to a happy and good life. While I have often been generous with my money, I have failed at being generous with my love. People need to know about the grace of Jesus more than they need a few dollars. Money is here and gone tomorrow, but the salvation of Jesus lasts for an eternity. I think churches in the West have, while well-intentioned, become misguided when it comes to sharing their resources. People don’t need another check. They need the love of Jesus.
We won’t be able to spread the love of Jesus without first having been consumed by it ourselves. We’ll never experience the fullness of Christ’s love until we surrender everything to Him. Everything is a word we too easily gloss over and move on. The best definition I have for everything is, well, everything! We like to rationalize and hedge on what the word means in our own lives, but the truth is Jesus demands everything from us. What we get in return is far more valuable and more than worth the cost. But there is a cost. The grace of God is free, but it is not cheap. Making Jesus your Lord means holding nothing back. From the moment you commit your life to Him, everything changes. Everything we have is lost, but everything we could ever hope to find will be found in Him.
We all have a decision to make about today. We can go on living as we always have, or we can make it count. Brothers and sisters make it count for Jesus today. This is real. It could not be more serious. People are dying because we are refusing to count the cost of following Jesus. We are refusing to give up everything so they might hear. My heart is breaking over what I see and what my response has been. Don’t let today pass by like any other day. Repent, recommit, and live today for Jesus. Make today the first day of a new and better life. Make today the day you surrender everything. Change your life. Make it count.