COME BEFORE WINTER Today’s message is about procrastination – to put off doing something until the last minute. Some people live their whole lives like that. It gives them an adrenaline rush to do homework at the last minute, cram for a test the night before an exam, arrive late wherever they go, or work on tax returns April 14th. How many of you do the difficult and important tasks first to get them over with? How many of you save the difficult things for last? You’re a procrastinator and deserve the gift of a round TUIT—as in “I’ll do it when I get around to it.” A cliché says, “Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today.” When I hear a person say, “One of these days I’m going to .…” they lose me right then and there. Be like the Nike commercial, Just Do It. It is good advice for us to order our lives, manage our time well and reduce our stress levels. “Spiritual procrastination” is detrimental to Christian maturity. If you get a chance I encourage you to read, If God Has a Refrigerator, Your Picture Is on It, by James W. Moore (Dimensions, 2003). Chapter 3 is titled, “Celebrating God’s Urgent Priorities: Do Your Best to Come Before Winter.” Some information for today’s message came from it. But even more importantly is our text: 2 Timothy 4: 9-21a. The Second Letter of Timothy is what biblical scholars call a pastoral letter. It was originally written by one person, Paul, to another person, Timothy. Think of a new pastor of several churches in Asia, receiving a letter of urgency and encouragement from his more-experienced pastor, evangelist, missionary, mentor and friend. Paul is near the end of his ministry. He’s about to be put to death, martyred, for spreading the gospel. He is undergoing his last torture and his final whippings. He has fought the good fight, finished the race, and despite years of suffering, he has kept the faith and is ready to give up his life for spreading the good news that Jesus Christ is the son of God, who lived and died and rose for the sins of the world. Paul is in Rome awaiting capital punishment. And he writes, many biblical scholars believe, from prison, to encourage young Timothy to continue preaching and teaching the gospel, no matter what the cost. He asks his busy friend Timothy to visit him soon. Think of how you would feel, knowing that you are going to die anytime now, and there’s someone you want to see before you go--your co-worker. Put yourself in Paul’s shoes and listen for his weary but faithful voice: “Do your best to come ASAP. I only have Luke with me now. On your way here, stop by and pick up Mark, because he is so useful to our ministry. I want to give him some final instructions before I go to be with the Lord. And by the way, winter is almost here, and you know how it is—there could be brutal wind and several inches of snow one day, and sunny skies the next. Bring my cloak, you know, my heavy overcoat, to warm my body. Bring my books, to warm and stimulate my mind. And most of all, bring my parchments, the scrolls of Holy Scripture, my Bible, to warm my spirit. I’m so cold, Tim. Please stop everything, don’t procrastinate, come see me before winter.” Paul uses the word “winter” in two ways: literally, because the sea freezes and ship navigation stops until the spring thaw; and figuratively, because the season is a metaphor for death. “Come before winter” means ”Get here before it is physically and spiritually impossible.” When our loved ones are near death, physicians will often say, “Quickly gather the family together to say goodbye. He or she won’t be last much longer.” That’s what Paul meant: if you delay, it may be too late. The New Testament does not tell us whether or not Timothy dropped what he was doing to support his friend. We just don’t know. Today’s message asks challenging personal questions: Are you a spiritual procrastinator? Deep down in your soul, have you truly accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior? Do you pray, read your Bible and listen for God’s voice everyday? Has pride or fear kept you from saying, “I’m sorry” or “I forgive you” to someone? Have you failed to forgive yourself for a secret sin? Is God calling you to do something that you keep denying? Is there someone you need to look in the eye and say, “I love you?” “Has God been extravagantly generous to you, but you have been stingy to his mission and ministries?” If there is something you are supposed to do or say, what are you waiting for? Now is the time to Get Around To It. Let this be the day to get right with God and your neighbor. Amen. |