Do you know the feeling when everything feels right, and you wish things would never change? Do you know those things that you know never will? Maybe its a simple and silly as your favorite flavor of ice cream always being the best flavor in the world for your whole life or as meaningful as a lifelong friend. I've had a great number of best friends throughout my life. I still remember being 5 years old, at my best friend Jamie's house thinking we would be this close forever. We were, for a time that is. Then it happened.
What happens to every 5 year old, and 10 year old, and 20 year old and 50 year old.
We grew up.
We grew apart.
I guess thats just what happens huh? Now, we are still in contact, still talk. But we lost our closeness. Our true friendship. We are on different levels now. Different goals, different beliefs. As I sit here, writing this, I am reminded of all the friendships I have had over the years. I think of all the friends I have now. But there is something different about this group. Maybe not from the outside, but its there. Beyond skin tones and the shapes of their noses, there is a difference in these friendships. I have an overwhelming sence of peace about them that tells me they are here to stay. Do you know what it is? They have the same spirit. They are pursuing God and challenge me in my faith. That, that right there my friends, is the difference. You see, there is a deep bond in Christian friendships that no amount of space or time can alter. Even if I were to never see them again in this life, I know that as long as they continue seeking God, I will see them again someday.
So what about the others? What about my non-Christian friends? Do I still love them? More than you could know. Do I still miss them? More than you could know. Do I still wonder about if they will ever find Christ? More than you could know. Lately I've thought so much about this group of beautiful girls. If you haven't yet noticed, its just about summer time. For them, its the summer before their senior year. Do you even understand what that means? That means I have 1 year. ONE. That's all. Just a little over 365 days before their futures are practically set. 365 days to tell them all I want them to hear. 365 days to love them as much as I can. 365 days to make them laugh. 365 days to spend. 365 days to lead them to Christ.
I have one year. Just ONE.
I began to think. Why dont I always live with just this "one year" philosophy? As a matter a fact, why dont I live with just a one day mentality? We are only guarenteed one day at a time. There is no promise that we will live to see tomorrow. Today is all we have. So instead of filling our day with worry, fuss, complaints, hatred, bitterness and regret, I believe we must live laughing hard, worrying little, loving lots, and spreading the Gospel message that Christ has come as often as we can. God laid Romans 13 on my heart quite a few months ago, and it has yet to leave. Verses 11 and 12 read "This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up for our slavation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of our savation will soon be here." Whether it be one day, one month, one year or one thousand years, it doesnt how much time we really have left. Time is not stopping. Why dont Christians cry out over the lost? Why have we become numb to the fact that God doesnt mess around with eternity? Why do we pretend that staying silent will somehow show more of Christ than opening our mouths and preaching to our unsaved friends? Do we even have the decency to pray and weep, broken by how far they are away from God. This is urgent. This is real. Wake up, hit the streets, and start living and leading. Living to serve Christ, leading others to the same.
1 Year More.
