“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”

2 Corinthians 6:2

I can honestly say that I never thought I’d become the crazy Jesus lady who warns people about the end times and tells people that “Jesus loves you” when they didn’t ask. Now when I think back to some of those “Jesus people”, I admire their boldness and the fact that they put fear aside to share the best news anyone could hear. I get it now. I also get how hearing these “extreme” things can feel unsettling and weird… but once you’ve accepted Jesus as your Savior, understand what it was that he did almost 2,000 years ago, it’s almost impossible NOT to share. If you had the best food you’ve ever had in your entire life, don’t you want to share it with someone else? Don’t you have the desire to explain how good that food was and want them to experience that same goodness as well? What if that incredible food ALSO granted you an open door to the best food for the rest of your life and eternity? Now, our relationship with Christ is not even close to comparable to that, but I’m trying to allow us to understand why it is that Christian’s can’t stop sharing about Jesus. Christian’s know and have experienced the most incredible love you can ever experience… and that love, which is by grace alone, gives us freedom in this life and for eternity. How unloving would that be if I didn’t share Jesus with those around me? With it being Holy Week, I must share my heart for salvation.

If you are reading this, my assumption is that you’ve already accepted Christ as your Savior.  But, if you are reading this because you are wondering if Christ is your Savior, now is the time to say yes to Him.  Salvation is the greatest gift we could ever receive.  It is eternal and given to us without us having to do any work in return.  It is by grace and grace alone, that we have been gifted eternity.  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9

In Second Corinthians, Paul writes, “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” As I read that verse, the first thing that comes to my mind is that salvation is urgent.  We can’t simply live our lives thinking that we will learn about God tomorrow or next week, when our schedules clear up.  No, salvation is a today issue, not tomorrow.  Salvation is a “right now” issue, not later today.  We don’t know the time or place when Jesus will come back.  We don’t know the time or the place that we will pass away from this world.  The time is unknown to all of us, but the one thing we can be sure of is that we are saved by what Jesus Christ did for us.  Now is the time to accept and tell others the good news of the Gospel.  You may be reading this thinking “this sounds extreme” and extreme may be the perfect word for it because everything of this world will pass away one day.  We are not promised anything in life except that of eternity because Jesus already paid the penalty for our sins.  So while this may sound extreme, salvation is extreme, salvation is not a tomorrow issue, but a right now issue. 

Your job is not guaranteed.  Waking up tomorrow is not guaranteed.  The future dream home is not guaranteed.  But what is guaranteed, is eternity with Jesus Christ himself.  What is guaranteed, is the fact that Jesus already died for our sins, so that we could be guaranteed salvation through him, eternity in heaven.  What is guaranteed is his love for us, his eternal love that was portrayed through his death on the cross.  What is guaranteed is life through Jesus Christ. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” John 11: 25-26

You are a chosen one, God chose you.  Now it is our responsibility, as chosen ones and saved ones to spread the good news.  We’ve been saved and sanctified by the truth of God’s word to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so others can be saved as well.  If you’ve been saved, you have a testimony.  If you’ve been saved, you have an obligation to share the good news.  If you’ve been saved, you then understand that salvation is urgent and needs to be spread.  

God put in the work to save us from the sins he knew we’d commit, now it is our turn to share the work that he did and save others.  Salvation is urgent.  Maybe you’re like me and you’ve been praying for salvation for certain people for months or years.  Nothing is too hard for God.  Nothing is impossible for God, so remind yourself of that truth when you’re feeling hopeless about that person’s salvation.  Everyone has a story, but not everyone will have a salvation story.  Focus on the tools that God has given you to be an instrument in someone else’s salvation.  Share the Gospel, love your neighbor, fast, be like Jesus in your acts and deeds, do things without the expectation of something in return.  Remind yourself of what God has called us to do, to share the good news and make disciples of all the nations.  Remind yourself that little by little seeds are being planted, someone else is watering it and God is making it grow.  We are all made in God’s image, so that person that seems too far gone, well that person was made in God’s image as well.  God wants so badly for that person to be saved too, remind yourself of that.  “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” Mark 8:35 We have been saved and part of that gift of salvation is sharing the good news we’ve been given. As Paul said in second Corinthians, “now is the time of God’s favor” (2 Corinthians 6:2) not tomorrow.  “Now is the time of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2), not whenever it is convenient.  Salvation is an urgent issue, so share the good news and be grateful for the gift of life we’ve been given.