Impetuous

If you are a believer what would you say if I asked you this question: would you be willing to die at any moment for your faith?  Probably a good majority of you would say, “yes.”  I would encourage you to think long and hard about your answer and not to answer impetuously.  I know that many of you think you would and even hope you would, but the only one that truly knows the answer is the Lord.  The Lord knows us inside and out and He knows far better than we do whether we would or not.

I talk to a man that says, at different times, he wants to die because there is nothing to live for and that he would die for the Lord anytime.  If you live long enough each of you will probably have to make that choice someday and I hope that each of you, along with me, will make the right choice, if and when that time comes.

Think about the apostle Peter and the rest of Jesus’ disciples response to the Lord when He told them this in Matthew 26:30-36:

“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus said to them, ‘All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

‘I will strike the Shepherd,

And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.’

Peter answered and said to Him, ‘Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.’

Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’

Peter said to Him, ‘Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!’

And so said all the disciples.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go and pray over there.’”  

Now think about these men, they had given up everything they had and followed Jesus without any hesitation.  They left family, their homes and friends, even the towns they lived in and followed Jesus.  They had seen the wonderful miracles Jesus performed and they also experienced His compassion, love and mercy firsthand.  They had even seen Him raise the dead and for the most part they all loved Him and believed who Jesus said He was.  They heard His teachings firsthand and enjoyed His protection and blessings on their lives, but when it came to the time of His crucifixion they all denied Him.

I think when they said they would die with Him they were all sincere but in the end they weren’t ready yet.  We know that Peter was an emotional person and he seemed to put his foot in his mouth, so to speak, quite often but was he sincere?  I would say that he was very sincere, but like I said he wasn’t ready to lay his life on the line at that time but later he would be ready and so would the other disciples.  When you think about Peter and the other disciples and how close they were to the Lord and how they were still able to deny him, you might want to think twice before you answer, “yes,” to the question I asked earlier.

Don’t be too impetuous with your answer, you may want to wait until the time comes, if it does, and then you can decide.  This is something to think about, may the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!  PS don’t forget to thank and Praise the Lord!!