PLENTY OF TIME FOR SLEEPING

 During my father’s waning years, I used to walk into his unlocked front door, through his living room, and into what amounted to a second living room, and found him nodding off in his lounge chair.

And finding him in that state of slumber, I would always exclaim,

“Wake up, Daddy. They’ll be plenty of time for sleeping!”

(with a somewhat admittedly morbid implication)

And with this, my father would lift his head slightly, open his eyes a few millimeters, smile, and… go back to sleep.

Fast forward a few, all too short years and… he was gone.

During the course of counseling a multitude of clients over the past almost thirty years, I have uttered the following four word sentence numerous times.

“We can’t stay here.”

In the New Testament Book of Hebrews, we read one of the most “in your face” sentences ever written.

“It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that, the judgement.”

And I think because of this unalterable truth, (unalterable whether you happen to be a believer, agnostic, atheist or member of another religion), it is crucial that we “get it right.”

My friends, I am determined to get it right

And I believe getting it right is dependent on my surrender and commitment to Jesus Christ. After all, He claimed to be “THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE” and has assured us that “No man comes to the Father, except through Me.”

Pt. 2

As I have entered the final quarter of my life, (and at the grand old age of 70, that characterization of my remaining time on earth is being very generous) I find myself doing some of the things I once criticized in my father.

Why, just the other day my wife showed me a video of yours truly nodding off while seated with my back against one arm of our living room sofa. And as you might imagine, I saved the video to my genealogical hard drive. I expect one day my great grandchildren will “get a kick out of it.”

And while my physical body is prone to fatigue, I am determined not to fall into a spiritual slumber; since I realize my time on earth is limited, and I “can’t stay here.”

I think far too many believers have fallen into a spiritual malaise, and they are content with living out a life of mediocrity. And given that realization and reality, I am both challenged and comforted by a verse in 1st John.

“But this life and the lust of it are passing away. But he who does the will of God endures forever.” (1st John 2:17)

God give us the realization that we cannot stay here. God help us to get our spiritual priorities in order. God help us to make a difference in the lives He sets before us. God give us the wherewithal to fulfill the remainder of our individual destinies.

May God wake us from our spiritual slumber since the time is short, and… we cannot stay here.

by William McDonald, PhD. Copyright pending