Night is Coming...

“…but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming…” John 9:3-4.

These were the words of a man who understood His time on earth was not His own, that He was sent to this earth with a purpose, and that God alone had determined His walk, His work, His impact and His death. Christ Jesus offered every day to the Father in full, not lingering in thought of His inevitable future. He was a single-minded man with a God-minded focus.

I read a passage this morning that not only reminded me of the earthly service of Christ to God but reminded me of my dad. After his cancer came out of remission and he was almost bedbound, I received a phone call from him asking for prayer. He loved the ministry for which he had served for ten years but had stepped aside once he got cancer. His prayer request was that he would discern whether God was calling him off of his sickbed to return to his ministry for one last term of service. After much prayer from the entire family, He determined that God was indeed calling him to return. Daddy never looked ahead and wondered how he was going to feel good enough for this return, but knew that if he was called by God he would be equipped by God. He knew that his time was short but he drained out every daily drop of service to God that he could ‘as long as it was day.’

Daddy lived a life slanted towards exemplifying the walk of Christ. While nobody’s walk will ever match the perfection of Jesus, Daddy made a great run at it. He ended his life strong and served every day until the end with a Father-focus instead of a Don-focus. God raised him up off of his sickbed the last 8 months of his life to work, and ‘the work of the God was displayed in his life.’

‘Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach…and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs of gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him…Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you will know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.’ Col. 3:15-24.

May we all live a life with our hearts singing and our hands serving, ‘as long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent me…night is coming.’ We have one fleeting chance on earth to make eternal significance and have been given everything required to accomplish this goal from God. 'What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.' James 4:14. No matter what your circumstances may be today, may you be blessed in knowing the truth of John 9:3.

…all this happened so that the work of God may be displayed in your life.