Jeremiah 13:16

Give glory to the LORD your God before it is too late. Acknowledge him before he brings darkness upon you, causing you to stumble and fall on the darkening mountains. For then, when you look for light, you will find only terrible darkness and gloom.

We are all good at putting things off. It might be filling in our tax returns, making things right with an aggrieved neighbour, buying Christmas presents or 1,001 other things. Jeremiah was desperately concerned that the people were putting off the most important thing of all: following the Lord. They were happy the way they were and had no intention of changing. The sad truth is that they never did change, and judgement fell upon them in the form of an invasion from Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar.

The apostle Paul had exactly the same message for the church in Corinth. In 2 Corinthians 6:2, he declared: “Today is the day of salvation.” God calls us to follow him today and to live in the light of his salvation, and there will come a day when it is too late to receive it. For Jeremiah’s hearers, the day passed, and all they could do was stumble and fall down. When they looked for light, all they could find was darkness and gloom.

This is a tough message, but it’s a loving one too. If you have never accepted the free gift of new life in Christ, then today is the day when you need to respond. Tomorrow may never come. I know you’ve got lots of other things on, and it would seem more convenient to wait until you’ve got some free time, or the children are settled, or the extension is finished or you’ve got to the end of your course. However, today is the day of salvation, and you need to reach out and receive God’s gift. If you have already accepted Christ into your life, then today is the day to walk in obedience to him and follow him wherever he calls you to go.

Question

What is God calling you to do today?

Prayer

Lord God, I have decided not to put it off any longer. I gratefully accept your gift of life and ask that you will help me to live fully for you from this day onwards. Amen