On most Friday mornings, I meet with a small band of “brothers” for a men’s fellowship group (aka “Bible study”, of sorts….but usually a whole lot more than just studying scripture…).  There’s a certain degree of confidentiality among the group, especially if the topics get a little deep.  We’re in-between studies right now, and we’ve been sharing personal faith testimonies among the group.  These have been a great way to “check in” with one another, learn a little bit, and realize that we’re not so far apart in our walks of faith.  (Side note….this is a great time to refresh our memories on scripture verse Romans 3:23….”For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”)

Without divulging too much information, one of the men in our group shared his story and said the following:

“I wake up every day thinking….’If this is my last day, then I’ve had a great ride; I am truly blessed.’…..”

I thought it was a great testimony.  How many of us can say the same?  Are we satisfied with where we are?  Are we confident that if today were our last day, and our heavenly father called us “home”, would we say confidently, “it’s been a great ride”?

Hopefully, we all share that confidence.

But what if you don’t?

And if you don’t, do you still have time?

Have you ever seen those commercials on the TV where they’re asking about how much money you’ve set aside for your future?  In the commercials, they typically ask the person or couple, “how much do they need to save and when to start”.  Inevitably, the person is way off the mark as demonstrated by a bar chart, of sorts, show where the person is and where they need to be.

Now, I’m all for setting aside financial resources for the future.  And I might add, it’s also good practice to have a fund aside for those emergencies that could pop up.

But unlike financial resources, what does our Heavenly Father expect as an investment well in advance that accrues interest overtime, compounding the stockpile that’s set aside for the future?

Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying here.  Our Heavenly Father also prefers that we never get “behind” when it comes to investing in our spiritual future.  But there is hope, to some degree, that it’s never too late to build that relationship with Him.

If you would describe your life as a “good ride”, meaning that all is good between you and our Creator, then that’s great news.

Or, if on the other hand, your life has been a “good ride” because you’ve been reckless, thrown caution to the wind, etc, then there’s some good news for you as well, but the path might not be as simple.

There are arguments both ways….just ask Google.

I believe, however, that the Resurrection story explains it best.  Remember that there were two other men being crucified along side Jesus.  One turned to Jesus shortly before expiring to asked to be saved.  He was sincere in his repentance and we are told through scripture that he joined Jesus in Heaven.

The other, however, scorned Jesus and mocked him until the end.  His heart had become so hardened by sin, that there was no turning back.  The outcome for the second man was not the same as the other.

Our Heavenly Father wants nothing more than our pure hearts.  Don’t delay.

Satan will whisper to you, “you have plenty of time…”.  But God says, “Now is the time of God’s favor and now is the day of salvation.”  Corinthians 6:2.

We all have seasons in our lives where we fall short.  My prayer today is that we can all say “it’s been a great ride”.  But my prayer is that we’ve taken God along as well.

Amen!