NOW is a Good Time
We love our neighbors! We’ve been in our home for seven years, and we’ve become good friends with most of the families on our street. Annual block parties help us all to put faces and names together. The saying “A friend in need is a friend in deed” is true of us. We’re all quick to rally around each other when a minor crisis comes up. Freezer dies? Everyone shows up with coolers for your food. Problems with your sprinkler system? We know a guy. Recommendations needed for pet sitting? We got you.
In early December, a variety of sweets, treats, and other holiday wonders begins to arrive on our front porch. My grandkids know how kind our neighbors are so when they come to our house during the Christmas season, they always ask, “What did your neighbors give you this week?” This year, the bounty included “fairy cakes,” a lovely poinsettia, flavored popcorn, mini chocolate cakes with vanilla peppermint icing, and a tin of chocolate chip cookies. Did I mention that we love our neighbors?!
Shortly after the holiday rush, I began to set aside time each day to write notes thanking our dear neighbors for spoiling us with their thoughtful gifts. I prayed for each family as I wrote, envisioning their faces and remembering their kindnesses. I decided that rather than mail their notes, I would personally drop them off in their mailboxes. So I made a stack of all of the notes with full intention of delivering them soon. I placed that stack on my desk and…inadvertently covered it up with papers, books, and miscellaneous desk items.
A couple of weeks ago, I took a look at the disaster on my desk and decided it was high time I got my act together. Every time I wanted to use my desk, I would push just enough of the piles out of the way to give myself some work space. I had clearly put off this task for too long. It was time to organize.
I started at the top. I transferred appointment dates from cards to my calendar. I filed away some papers. I tossed fliers and other “important” things that I had ended up not needing after all. A few books found their way back to the shelves where they belonged. And in the middle of the mountain, I found those thank-you notes – obviously undelivered. Immediately, I dropped the desk project, laced up my shoes, and sheepishly walked the block, placing each note in its appropriate mailbox.
I was kicking myself the whole time. Yes – I was embarrassed for this late delivery, but I felt worse that my neighbors would think that their thoughtful gifts hadn’t been acknowledged. Procrastination – as it usually does to me – bit me in the rear-end. If I had done what I should have done immediately, I could have avoided that walk of shame up and down our street.
John Mark, the author of the book of Mark in the Bible, doesn’t share my propensity toward procrastination. He relays the story of the life of Christ in a fast-paced way that keeps the action coming. The Greek word for “immediately” is used 41 times in this 16-chapter book – the shortest of the four gospels. Mark 1:16-20 recounts how Jesus calls four men to follow Him, and they do, dropping everything – “at once” and “without delay.” Each invitation to those who would become His 12 closest friends is responded to without hesitation. A decision that will change their lives – and through their ministries, the trajectory and history of God’s church – is made “immediately.”
What about you? Are you a “putter offer” or a “get ’er doner?” What’s in front of you that you need to tackle? It may be a wonderful venture that you’re feeling underconfident about. It may be a prompting from the Lord to reach out to someone you haven’t invested in lately. What about a plan you came up with a while back but just never executed? Today is the day, my friend. Take the first step.
Or maybe the “mountain” in front of you isn’t so pleasant. And yet that first step is so needed. Is there a hard conversation that needs to happen? Is there a relationship that needs mending? Is there an unproductive rhythm that needs to be broken? Remember, child of God, you don’t take on these tasks alone. You have the Lord of heaven’s armies on your side, and He is for you.
This might sting to hear (it for sure stung me), but procrastination is a kind of arrogance where we assume we can put off a task until another day because we have all the time in the world. But the Lord doesn’t guarantee us another sunrise. Psalm 139:16 says, “…All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” James 1:14 speaks frankly: “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” Job 12:10 says, “In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” As my sons learned from their elementary school principle – “Delayed obedience is disobedience.” A proper posture is the humble prayer of Psalm 90:12: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Whatever it is you need to act on, consider these verses as your push to get moving! Tomorrow isn’t promised so make things happen TODAY!
Finally, friend, of all the things that need to be addressed “immediately,” your relationship with Jesus Christ is most urgent. He willingly left His throne in the midst of the beauty of heaven to walk our sin-filled streets so that He could offer Himself in our - your - place as the perfect, innocent sacrifice for your rejection of His love and grace. He paid the penalty for your rebellion against God so that you can be in His presence forever. It’s His gift to you, and He desires that you accept it as yours – immediately.
“As God’s co-workers, we URGE you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For He says, ‘In the time of My favor, I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, NOW is the time of God’s favor, NOW is the day of salvation.” – 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 (Emphasis added.)
