Today I attended the funeral of one of our beloved church members. A man who truly lived his life for God. This funeral was more of a celebration of his life, as we all knew that he is now in the presence of Jesus, which is exactly where he would want to be.

This event, combined with a parable that I rediscovered this weekend, got me to thinking about the possible regret of untold messages, undiscovered truths, and ultimately the shear urgency of spreading the Good News of Jesus before it is too late for some.

You see, this parable tells of a rich man who died without acknowledging Jesus Christ as His savior. In this parable, he is in agony, suffering in “this flame”. As a result, he says,

“Then, I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.”

The man in this parable wishes that he could warn his brothers. Warn them of how terrible and painful eternity will be if they do not trust Jesus as their Savior.

What regrets will I have on the other side of eternity? Will the faces of people I wish I would’ve spoken to come to mind? People that I wish I would’ve taken the time to share Jesus with?

There’s one person I know that will come to mind. A person that I grieve over often, even now. This is a person that I have shared a portion of my life with, have talked with about Jesus, but she refuses to surrender her life to Jesus. I do not see her anymore as much as I used to, which also saddens me. I wish she could see Jesus as I do, but she is holding onto something from her past so tightly, that she has not been able to let go long enough to grab hold of the truth that leads to salvation.

Sweet, precious reader, please do not wait until your time is up to acknowledge the saving grace of Jesus. The Bible (and life experiences) tell us that we are not promised tomorrow. Quite frankly, we are not promised the next moment. If the desire and opportunity to surrender your life to Jesus are there today, seize it! Acknowledge Jesus as your Savior, and you will instantly alter your life in ways that even you will have a hard time putting to words. You will experience the hope that is heaven! Jesus is a person to be experienced. And what an experience it is!

Acknowledging Jesus as your savior is as easy as ABC:
Admit, Believe and Confess.
A: admit that you are a sinner in need of a Savior
B: believe that Jesus is God’s son, whom God sent to take the punishment of our sins, that He died & arose again
C: confess–tell others about your decision that you have made.

If you’ve made a decision today to become a disciple of Jesus, I’d love to hear your story!

The Rich Man and Lazarus
Luke 16:19-31
“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”