This next paragraph is from a Beth Moore Bible study I've been doing (highly recommend any of them, she's great!) Called "Living Beyond Yourself"
A moment will come, at the ushering in of eternity, when every lost man and woman will be confronted with the staggering loss of his or her salvation. Remember, Phillippians 2:10 says that "Every knee should bow, in the heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord". The Lost will suffer a horrible threefold realization: they will realize that He is LORD, that they are LOST, and that it's too LATE! Their lives will have been a total waste. A life without Christ is a wasted life. All the energy, all the pain - for Absolutely NOTHING! After reading that one day, I just couldn't get out of my mind that at some point everyone WILL know that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, and for many it will be too late and they will KNOW that they had it wrong and it's TOO late!
Suddenly my fear of what will my friends say or what will my neighbors or classmates say; if I'm outspoken about Christ, about values, about church, if I stand up for what's right...what would they say...just didn't seem so important anymore. What seemed more important was, What would they say if they knew I was one of the saved, that I knew Christ all along but failed to mention Him, and now it was too late for them? That scenario scares me more!
If I haven't made my faith an option to those I know by sharing with them about where my hope lies, about Jesus Christ...then where will they turn when trials come, and trials WILL come! This is when most people begin to look for something more...when life gets rough! Will they look for peace in a bottle of alchohol, prescription drugs maybe, or in one of the other fastest growing religions that offers no real hope in the one TRUE God! Or instead do they know what YOU have to offer?
I've just really felt this seriousness lately, this sense of urgency. That it will not be enough to carry on as I have at times being a luke-warm Christian, or a Sunday's only Christian. It's just not going to be enough to keep me on the right path, and to keep those I love, those I hope to win over walking with me. I cannot save the world, but I can start with those right in front of me...those I see on a daily or even weekly basis; at work, at school, at the store, in my own home! Hopefully giving them the tools, the passion, the courage to know and serve Christ and ultimately reach even higher, even farther, reach even more than me! They could be the next missionary, the next preacher, the next Christian writer, maybe one of them CAN reach the world...and it starts with me!
