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Waiting Too Long
I recently was made aware of a book with the title: Don't Wait Until You Are Thirsty To Dig Your Well". The book is about planning for the future and teaches us a good lesson while doing so. Don't wait to start taking vitamins and eating right until you need surgery. Don't wait to buy insurance until you have an accident. Don't wait for your children to grow up before you start teaching them the important things. Don't wait until retirement age to prepare for retirement.
Most of what we do in life requires a measure of preparation. Students need to study before the test. Sports teams practice before they get on the playing field. Doctors learn through internships before they are allowed to practice medicine. The discipline to prepare is usually too much to deal with, and most people are not prepared for anything this life brings them.
Don't wait until you get on your death bed before you decide to turn to God.
This last one is a problem for millions of people. They live like there is no God, and as they realize they are going to die, all of a sudden decide to get religious. For most, this is too late to start living for God. While a few might be successful at turning to God late in life, this is not usually the case. Most people will leave this world with the intention of getting right with God before it is too late. Since, we do not know when that time will come, most people are unprepared to meet their God. There is a song we sing that expresses this thought very well. "Careless soul, why will you linger, wandering from the fold of God, hear you now the invitation, O prepare to meet thy God". The chorus of the song goes like this: "Careless soul, O heed the warning, for your life will soon be gone, Oh how sad to face the judgment, unprepared to meet thy God".
We can warn people of the danger facing them, but if they have no desire to live the way God wants, they will not listen. The person who disregards warnings is in peril, and the warnings concerning the soul need to be heeded more importantly than anything else. We call people fools who do dumb stuff that is dangerous, and sadly we laugh when they fall off and get injured or get burned because of their foolishness (or stupidity).
Do not be like the fool who declares that there is no God. Do not be like the fool that shuns instruction from the Lord. Do not be like the fool who refuses discipline.
Let's face it, we all do enough dumb stuff in our lives, that we sometimes realize how lucky we are to be alive today. Take consideration of your soul, and prepare to meet your God, now, while you are thinking about it, and can do something about it. Do not wait until it is too late.
By Carey Scott

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