When to Make Peace With God
Sixty years from today, you probably won't be here. 30 years from today – in the time it takes to pay off a mortgage – you're dead! You can refinance your house, but you can't refinance your life.
I recently read a story in the paper about a high school boy - a basketball player - who just lost his dad. He died in his sleep (he was only a year older than I am). Now this teenager is without a father. Out of habit, he'll look up into the stands to look for Dad and someone he probably doesn't know will be sitting in his dad’s seat. It makes me lie awake at night and wonder: when is MY last day?
Now
Statistics are sobering. Ten out of ten people die. It would be wise to make peace with God right now. It's not a given that you’ll get Heaven. Many people think it's as if God has a big scale where he weighs your good deeds against your bad. If your good deeds outweigh the bad, then Heaven is your reward. If not… well, you still think God should let you in.
But the Bible doesn’t teach that. It says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” [John 3:36 NKJV]. The Book that gives us Heaven also gives us Hell.
People would love it if I only talked about Heaven and Grace. But I teach the Word of God - the whole counsel of God. I have an obligation to teach from Genesis to Revelation. If I teach Grace, I have to teach Judgment. If I teach Heaven, I have to teach Hell. I don't get a personal prerogative. I must teach the truth.
When is the right time to make peace with God? Right now. Today!
Honestly
How should you make peace with God? Honestly. Be honest with God. Some people approach God deceitfully because they only want to escape Hell. Don’t try coming to God with your old bag of sins hidden behind your back. He knows that you don’t want a real relationship with Him. God knows the secrets of your heart. When you come to God with secrets, you'll run to your sins rather than to Him when the trials of life come your way.
How do we pave the way for or more honest relationship with God? Drop the bag and come to God for the right reasons. God knows that the sins in your bag will kill you. He's asking you to hand over the sins you love because they're poison. Be honest with Him and ask for His help. You'll find that He has all the power necessary. But you need to come honestly.
Faith
Why should we make peace with God? It's a matter of faith. Your faith is reward-able. Faith is the result of an honest, transparent relationship with God. It is by faith that you can live the abundant life Jesus promises in John 10:10. But a warning precedes the promise: The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
Your enemy is at work to destroy your faith by causing you to focus on what you see rather than God who can’t be seen. Satan knows that when you shift from faith to sight, you won't talk to God. You depend on you for what you need rather than God.
The only way to prove authentic, genuine love for God is through faith.
Here
Where do you make peace with God? Make peace with God right here. One day of serving God is better than a thousand days doing anything, anywhere else. When you do that, God gifts you a place in His Kingdom all the way into eternity. Today is the day of salvation.
God doesn't just gift us heaven for a time that’s there and then, though. The Kingdom of Heaven is for here and now. Don't put it off. Make peace with God now, honestly, by faith, right here.
