sean lee

The world’s three most important events:

About three years ago, I had the privilege of baptizing a former student who had come to faith in Jesus Christ. He was a troubled kid. The kind of kid that many people had probably written off. Some might have wondered if he would ever amount to much, much less become a follower of Christ. But God… God saved him. God changed his heart. God transformed his life. The same young man whom some had little hope for became a testimony of God’s saving grace. And I had the privilege of standing in the water and baptizing him as he publicly professed his faith in Christ. But less than a year later, tragedy struck. Cancer came unexpectedly and took his life rather rapidly. He was gone far sooner than anyone could have imagined. I’ve thought about him often since then. His story is a reminder of two things we desperately need to remember. First, never underestimate the saving power of God. Don’t write people off. Don’t assume someone is too far gone, too rebellious, too broken, or too unlikely to ever believe. The gospel is the power of God for salvation. God saves sinners. He gives life to the spiritually dead. He makes new creations out of people the world has given up on. Second, we must never presume upon tomorrow. We are not promised another year, another month, another week, or even another day. We spend so much time assuming there will always be more opportunities to share the gospel, more opportunities to repent, and more opportunities to get serious about the things of God. But we don’t know that. The psalmist prayed, “So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) That prayer ought to sober every one of us. Christian, share the gospel. Don’t assume you’ll have another opportunity. Tell your family. Tell your friends. Tell that coworker. Tell that former student. Tell the person you’ve been meaning to talk to. And if you’re reading this and you’ve never truly repented of your sin and trusted in Jesus Christ, please don’t presume upon tomorrow. Your life is a vapor. Eternity is real. Death is certain. And Jesus Christ is the only hope for sinners. This young man’s story reminds me that God can save anyone, and none of us knows how much time we have. The gospel is too important to keep to ourselves, and eternity is too important to put off. Don’t wait until tomorrow to take seriously what God has commanded you to do today.