Why Not Here? Why Not Now?

I have never been ready for anything that’s happened in my life.

Not the real stuff. Not the stuff that turned out to be moments when the veil grew thin between this kingdom and the kingdom of God. Moments when I inhaled the pure, intoxicating air of glory

(which smells oddly enough like clean wet sheets hung on the backyard line and blown by a summer breeze.)

Nope. I’ve never been prepared to follow to the places Jesus leads. Not the way you think you should be prepared. Not in that perfectly ordered I can see this coming from a mile away prepared we all hope to have. Even when I think I’m prepared, when the Jesus adventure arrives, I’m likely blown right out of the perfect shoes I chose for the journey.

That’s unsettling, off-putting, frightening, nerve-wracking, and disturbing on the highest level. But, it’s when the good stuff happens. The Bible stuff. The stuff of stories we’ll be telling around eternal fires.

The Jewish people had been waiting for Messiah for so long it’s hard to believe they weren’t prepared for Him when He arrived! For centuries all they’d done was prepare and yet, what did John preach? “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” A better modern translation of that would be, “Brace yourselves, people. He’s here.”

But, some had grown so accustomed to waiting, they missed Him. Think about that. Something inside them had decided the waiting was what life was all about, not Him, and they were left behind.

That will happen to some of us. We aren’t different from them. We aren’t smarter or more spiritual or more special. Humans are humans and ever since Noah, it’s been clear that some of us will always miss the boat.

We’ve been waiting for Jesus to return since He ascended. So, there’s a real danger that we’ll be so accustomed to waiting for the end, to dismissing the false end days prophets, to ignoring the pseudo-signs, that we won’t act when the real deal unfolds before our eyes.

I’m not sure I know the answer to this, the prevention, the guard against but here’s what’s working for me – I believe when I read Biblical commands that Jesus means for me to do these things NOW. When I read that Jesus came preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” I think – “Why not here? Why not now?” and I repent.

Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength – Why not here? Why not now? And I love Him.

Love your neighbor as yourself – Why not here? Why not now? And I love my neighbor.

And when you stand praying, forgive – Why not here? Why not now? And I forgive.

I do this Christian life clumsily, messily, always needing forgiveness and grace, but when Jesus comes, I want to know I left it all on the mat. I don’t want Him to find me still waiting for some sign to begin, to get serious, to finally believe in a way that affects how I live.

My friend Diane wasn’t a perfect Christian. She was loud. Oh. My. Goodness. The woman was loud. She talked too much. She moved too fast for some. But right out of the gate with Jesus, she was a full-throttle follower trying to live every verse she read whether she could do it well or not.

When she and I were broken, seriously wounded from a church split we only barely survived, she decided it was the perfect time to throw a party for her unsaved friends and share the gospel with them all. Yup. Just like that. Diane didn’t want to leave this planet thinking she hadn’t given everyone within earshot a chance at eternal life.

Diane died way too young. She was diagnosed at the start of a winter and we buried her as that summer rolled around but she went out as she lived, telling everyone within earshot about Jesus.

I’m a wallflower compared to Diane. I hate parties. I’m a remedial evangelist. If I waited until I was bold like Diane to follow Jesus into action, I’d still be sitting on the bench. So, I don’t wait. In my own way, in the way Jesus designed me, I’m living this Jesus adventure NOW.

Just as we aren’t any different kind of people than the ones who missed Him the first time, we’re also no different than the ones He called to be apostles. Galilee. Nazareth. Cana. Peter. James. John. They weren’t prepared for what Jesus brought their way but they dropped everything when He called. Their spirits said, “Why not here? Why not now?” and they lived the Jesus adventure.

What about you? What are you waiting for? When are you going to love? To forgive? To speak up? To speak out? To believe? HE WILL COME AGAIN SOON.

Repent, loved ones, for the kingdom of God is at hand. Not just where I sit right now but also where you sit as you read this. Don’t miss Him. Don’t miss the adventure. It’s here. It’s now. Where are you?

Do you need prayer to move forward with Jesus? Leave me a note through my Contact Me page. Do you find my blogs worth reading? If yes, would you consider sharing them with others? Use them as the Lord leads. The I’m In page describes my goal for readers with this blog – you share that page, too. Don’t wait to inhabit God’s idea of you, loved ones. Why not here? Why not now?