Luke 9:57-62 It’s Urgent!
“On the road someone asked if he could go along. ‘I’ll go with you, wherever,’ he said. Jesus was curt: ‘Are you ready to rough it ? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.’ Jesus said to another, ‘Follow me.’ He said, ‘Certainly, but first excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have to make arrangements for my father’s funeral.’ Jesus refused. ‘First things first. Your business is life, not death. And life is urgent: Announce God’s kingdom!’ Then another said, ‘I’m ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at home.’ Jesus said, ‘No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day’” (MSG).
That may seem like a long Scripture quotation, but it emphasizes the urgency of the situation even 2000 years ago. Jesus’ words to those who desired to follow Him were to the point. Forgive me, Lord, if I have taken liberties, but I would like to paraphrase Jesus’ words at the time. (paraphrase) We don’t have time to search for the best housing on the way. We don’t have time to take care of the normal daily life situations. Focus has to be on the message of God and his kingdom. Nothing else is as important as this message (end paraphrase). He was on His way to Jerusalem where His ultimate sacrifice and victory were to take place. The pace did not, nor could it, slow after Jesus’ resurrection. In Jesus’ words, “You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.”
If those words were vital then, they must be even more so today as we get closer to the return of Jesus to this earth. There is not much optimism in the world today, particularly not outside those who know Christ. How will they know about the ultimate “Good News” if we don’t tell them? (See Romans 10:15.) It’s up to us to “seize the day.” We can seize it with spoken words. We can seize it with written words. But what will make the world sit up and take notice is our actions. We have the opportunity every day to seize the day in the ways we treat people. We must make them realize that we have something they need—peace and joy in the Lord,–and nothing shows it better than the ways in which we live our everyday lives. If the choice is to “love them into heaven” or “scare them out of hell,” I choose the former, and if I do so, then I must show the love of my Lord everyday.