No Re-do's in Eternity!

(originally written May '02)

I have always loved sports. I especially like the thrill of the last second buzzer-beating shot, the late scoring drive, and the bottom of the ninth game-clinching home run. I remember as a young boy, I would take my basketball out in the front yard and pretend to make the last second shot to win the “Big Game”. I would count down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, then pick up my dribble and take the shot! Usually the ball would thud off of the rim and miss the goal. But that was the great thing about being all by myself, I could make up the rules! “Wait!”, I would say, “he was fouled! He gets two free throws and another chance to win the game!” I call that a “re-do”. Anytime I would miss, I would call re-do and I got another chance! It was great! Of course I would re-do until I finally made the shot, and I was the hero!

This reminds me of a Scripture that I’m sure we are all familiar with, Hebrews 9:27. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment”. How many people have exited this life, only to wish they could call “re-do”? The rich man in Luke 16 is a sobering picture of someone who wished he could call re-do, listen to his plight. “The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes…….he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame’…..Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’” The truth was, he chose to reject the word of God in his lifetime, and now was realizing the judgment of his sin.

I am thankful for reminders, and today I was reminded of the seriousness and urgency of “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This morning I was at the funeral of a family friend. Thankfully, when Mr. Kilgore passed this life he was present with the Lord Jesus! But last Friday when he woke up, he didn’t know that he would not lay his head on his pillow that night. We are not promised tomorrow... our life is but a vapor...

The message is still the same, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”, Luke 13:3. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6. And Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” John 6:37. Have you responded to the gospel in repentance and faith? There are no re-dos in eternity!

Thank you Lord Jesus for saving this wretched sinner!