IT IS CHANGE, NOT TIME THAT MAKES SAINTS.
TEXT:
"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah chapter 55 verses 6 and 7, King James Version)
To be saved, man must change and be changed. The process of regeneration involves a radical spiritual change. The Lord Jesus was emphatic about it. He said,
"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." (John chapter 3 verse 7). Repentance is the vehicle by which such change occurs. Repentance is a deliberate step away from sin and a dedication of oneself to the amendment of one's life. It involves the forsaking of wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts, a return to the Lord with the assurance of His mercy and pardon (Isaiah chapter 55 verses 6 and 7). Actually, the Christian life consists of an unending succession of changes, always moving toward spiritual perfection, which is the ultimate goal.
One grave mistake people make in life with regards to change is to arrogate to time the ability to perfect human nature. Rather than taking deliberate steps to effecting change to their lives, many see time as the agent that is responsible for change. Such phrases like "time will tell", "time will make him wiser", "time is a great healer", etc are nothing but a harmful mistake we make concerning time.
It is change and not time that turns fools to wise men, sinners to saints, poverty to riches, etc. Or rather, it is Christ who carries out the change in the lives of men. Christ it was, that wrought the miracle of change in the life of Apostle Paul, turning Saul the persecutor to Paul the servant of God. Time didn't do it! Of course, we do not cast aside or disregard the active cooperation of Saul with the Lord in this regard.
Unfortunately, so many have yet to recover from the damage done to their lives because of an unfounded confidence placed on time. We know that time didn't perfect the transformation that we so admire in the lives of saints like Moses or Jacob. It was "change" that did it. They cooperated with God and the desired change took place.
Beloved, stop putting off the day of salvation, vaguely hoping that time is on your side, when actually the likelihood of your ever achieving the desired change grows less day by day. If there's anything to do with time, it is to redeem it (Ephesians chapter 5 verse 16; Colossians chapter 4 verse 5). To redeem time means to make the most of every opportunity, especially in these evil days. That simply means that you don’t let time go to waste. It means that you don’t live your day unfocused, unhappy, negative or defeated. Make the most of every day.
Take conscious steps to make positive changes in your life. Delay can be dangerous! This is more so that whether you realize it or not there's a kind of change that's taking place in your life, which change if you don't watch it, is serving to harden your will and making it more and more difficult to repent. The Bible summarizes it saying,
"While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation." (Hebrews chapter 3 verse 15).
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, help me as I take conscious steps to effect positive changes in my life, rather than leaving my life in the hand of time, in Jesus name.