The Brevity of Life
The other reason why I am utterly remorseful about this is how fleeting time is. Incredible, I came to university slightly above a minor, a day to be exact. Today, I am 22. Where did all these years go? I have successes I could talk about, but who is there to listen? Are we not crowned for successes on a single moment and the success target changes? Just like a mirage, it keeps changing focus such that a hopeful desert traveler would die not having quenched his thirst.
I have thought of the nature of life to be likened to a person enclosed in a maze. For each advancement, this person needs to open a door to proceed; these are, trials. The doors are locked and their keys in place, only they are a little jammed and this toughens with the levels. So a success is largely celebrates, but it unlocks a huger challenge. Life would therefore be so meaningless, if it’s about struggle, open a door, celebrate, struggle harder, open a more jammed door, celebrate and the cycle moves on. So it appears like we are rushing against time and the more doors you open the bigger the legacy. One is then eulogized on newspaper-size pages in a day, and life for the rest moves on! But yet we can move through life, awaiting the infinitely greater and bigger pat. That of God; and that is the life lived godly.
Having observed this, it is also scriptural that the preciousness of life is not celebrated in earthly terms of success, but greater faithfulness to God. Hitherto how when I have willowed in sin, faithfulness to God has been compromised. How unfortunately so! How it has been easy to maintain a healthy outward frame, largely in Christianized talk and walk when it’s true in my heart of hearts there is none if anything Godward. Wickeder, when I have been consciously playing in heaps of dung- my sin.
God is a fair judge, it is also true to who much is given much is expected. How sorry, it would be to bring a year’s long sheaves when God gave five years. Will God not be justified to say, “Away from me faithless servant?”
Christian Witness
Third, Christian witness has been compromised by my sin. In deliberate disobedience; neglect of means of grace has been loud, the tongue has gotten loose and rash, my taste of movies and music unaffected, contributions to worldly discussions gone just as worldly, gained populism in slander and ungodly criticism (men do too, I realized). What then? Christian witness to my own self has suffered. I have been least sure I am a Christian then. (I have made a comment on this later). Having bargained with or not to grieve the Holy Spirit, negotiated whence or not to crucify Christ on that cross again? And said, “Yes! Just this once (honestly, many times it`s been episodes upon episodes of drifting). God is merciful (I should have read his justice too). ” At those junctures, I have sinned intentionally. Will God show mercy to deliberate sinning?
Yes, He shows mercy, but saving grace to the end of repentance with fruit, which perseveres to the end. How unfortunately I have jeopardized my immortal soul (the soul has a beginning but will live forever). How I have speculated my time of death and thought, it`s not so near. Yet every passing moment brings it nearer, well or badly spent. How few moments we do not care whether they matter for eternity or not.
Eviler, I have caused, the name of Christ to be blasphemed on my account. When I professed faith in Christ but was an empty possessor of life in Christ. I must have misled a few more and the warning by Christ. Thus I regret. I missed chances to be a good evangel of the gospel.
Conclusion
Wrapping up, I do not assume all times I was in calculated sinning I was a believer. I may have been a professor of faith but not a saint. Do not be condoled by the fact that if you repeated a confession prayer once or have professed Christ for as long as you remember, you are a Christian. Please examine yourself to be sure that you are in the faith. That you believe in Christ with all your life and live like so!
God granting this perspective of life, has quickened me to the essence of life. The sensibility of a life holily spent. Having talked about sins, sinful lusts and addictions. God has awakened me to His grace to everyday keep putting indwelling sin to death, by the power of the Holy Spirit. I am not saying I have been inoculated to sin, even calculated, deliberate and intentional sin! But I am conscious to lead a life of daily watching and praying, that I may not fall into temptation.
The substance of faith is; when we look to Christ by faith and call on Him in prayer, He saves us from the guilt and penalty of sins in justification. This is evidenced in our being saved from the power of sins in sanctification, as we actively by the Spirit put sins to death, by loving God over sins and by means of grace. Believers then long eagerly to be freed from sin by the complete removal of remains of sin in our lives upon crossing the river of death. Then, the presence of sins will be taken away from us.
I cheer us up to fight together. Let us help our wounded soldiers. To all internally wounded soldiers, cry out. Do not die alone, there is help! What a wasted life in all the earth it would be a life lived in empty profession, with zilch possession of life in Christ!
Live everyday cognizant of this, that a godly life is a joyous life in God. Life is too short to jeopardize your soul- it`s immortal, bear a good Christian witness to yourself and to others, we await the great accolade, “Well done good and faithful servant.” Else the opposite and be cast away from Him, we must account for our lives. Eternity will not be neuter.
References
[1] “Bibles,” in The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Good News Publishers, pp. Kindle Locations 127923-127925.
[2] J.C. Ryle, “Expository Thoughts on the Gospels,” 1856-69, pp. location 14242-14248.