I Loved

If a loved one were holding on to something that would surely kill them (a bomb for example), wouldn’t you do everything in your power to help them let go of it? I imagine that we all would, hopefully, risk our very lives to save those we love.

I would venture to say that at least everyone reading this knows of at least one person in their life who is not a believer. And that person you are thinking of is likely someone you love very much. As a believer, you understand that every non-believer on this planet is walking around holding a bomb in their soul.

Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 that those who are without Christ, “will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might”. In Matthew 25, Jesus illustrates very bluntly what will happen to those who face judgement as unbelievers -  “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

These are not “feel good” verses in the bible. They are a harsh, brutal truth that many will face one day. When the timer runs out, the bomb will explode.
Today I was reminded of how unexpectedly that timer runs out. Death happens. We cannot stop it. It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The very pit of your stomach sinks when an unbeliever is lost.

I think we as believers need to be reminded of this harsh truth. God has commissioned us to reach out and speak the truth of the gift of salvation to all people. He does not want anyone to suffer this death and destruction (2 Peter 3:9), but it is our responsibility to share. People are dead and dying and we need to let that truth really sink into our minds and hearts. And what a heart-wrenching tragedy it is when we can’t reach that person before the timer expires.

Can we even say we love people if we aren’t willing to tell them about Jesus? To point them to eternal life and away from death. If we...no I....if I don’t share Jesus, then I don’t really love.

We do not save people, God saves people. God gives us each a choice, and every person has to choose life or death. Will you step out in faith today and try to reach that person? Regardless of the outcome you will still be able to stand on that Day of Judgement and say:  I loved.