Too Late

As I waited patiently for a little over 8 months for my first pineapple to be ready, the day came that I cut it off. It might have been a bit late as it was, but I wanted to be certain it was ready. After it sat a few days, I popped the top off and prepared the top for replanting. I looked at the pineapple sitting there and almost cut into it a few times. I didn’t because I wanted to share it, so continued to wait for the right moment. Finally the day came which I thought to be right day to cut it up and eat it. My Pastor was over and he shares in my fondness for pineapple. So I cut it and started to trim it, and bit into a piece and all the air was let outta my balloon. He says to me, “seems a bit fermented.” Hoping maybe it was just because it was close to the end, I took a deeper piece. It was worse and I promptly spit it out, it was completely spoiled, I had waited too long.
We tend to do that a lot in our lives, we wait for the right time and find we missed it. Not speaking up, or rectifying a situation right away. Thinking and sometimes even praying, “Thank you God for taking care of this,” when it all actuality to find out it didn’t correct itself, instead it became a mountain, when it could have been dealt with easy, (although maybe uncomfortable). Causing sometimes very long lasting damage in peoples lives. It’s important to act on things when God reveals them us, but doing so seeking Him in it. If done in love, in a Godly manner it can be a beautiful thing. While letting it be, it can become a nasty, rotten pineapple, good for nothing but fertilizer.
Even in our daily activities we are receiving promptings, talk to that person, help this person, share a verse with him/her over there, opportunities that we miss for one reason or another. I don’t have time right now, they might ask for money, I’m just not that confident in the word yet, etc. the reasons go on and on. Even Moses tried that one saying “I’m not an eloquent speaker.” God still used Him despite his reluctance. Have you ever tried going back after the prompting? I have and most every time the person was no longer there. Once the moment is passed it’s usually too late, we’ve missed a moment to experience God through obedience to Him tugging at your heart
Same way with our eternity, we gotta act when the prompting comes, not waiting because I still have a lot of life to live, or things to do that don’t agree with a Christian lifestyle. Too many things to do or try before I start following God. Just remind yourself, He didn’t wait until you were ready to die for your sins. The bible says, “God demonstrated His love for us in this, “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us” Romans 5:8. Fact is nobody is promised tomorrow. As Greg Laurie said about this life, “nobody gets out alive”. Call on Him while it is still “today”, cause tomorrow may not come. Even if tomorrow does come, wouldn’t you want to live it in the freedom that only comes from Christ? You may say, “Well now I am free to do the things that the bible says not to do.” Truth is we become in bondage to whatever we get caught up in. Whether it be computer games, social media, drugs, alcohol, pornography, smoking, eating, tv, (the list goes on), we keep an eye out for our next opportunity to dive back into those things we are held captive to. Christ died to give us a freedom from all of it. “Now the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” 2 Corinthians 3:17. Truth be told, my life in Christ is way better, not even comparable, to my BC days. I think one of the biggest regrets for the believer, (at least for me anyway), is that I didn’t say yes to Him sooner.
Don’t wait until it’s too late, God is calling us all to something, and once we become “fertilizer” it’s too late. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10. I know I have missed a lot of opportunities to serve Him and others, and I don’t want to add to that list. I’m certain that when we are before Him, we will all want to hear those words, “Well done my good and faithful servant”. Stay Blessed, PJ