The Nicest God You'll Ever Meet

It happened again not too long ago.

I was talking with my Uncle Ron, a man in poor health, who admits he doesn't have long to live. We had been discussing matters of his estate, and he had explicit requests for how he wanted his affairs to be settled after he died.

Towards the end of this conversation, I said, "You've put a lot of thought into how you want your assets disposed of, but you still haven't taken care of your soul. Aren't you worried that you're not ready to face God?"

In my capacity as family "Jesus-freak" I have had numerous spiritual conversations with my uncle, and many other relatives, and while they politely tolerate me, I never seem to quite get through. I fully realize that the "getting through" part is up to the Holy Spirit, but still it can be discouraging when you keep pitching but no one seems to be catching.

Uncle Ron looked at me and said, "I know what you're saying is true, but I'm just not ready yet."

"Uncle," I said, "You've got one foot in the grave and the other one on a banana peel! How close do you want to cut this thing?"

"I'm just not ready," he said, "I've still got some things I want to do."

I've heard this line of reasoning before, and it never ceases to amaze me. People will talk about "getting right with God" someday in the distant future, once they have "enjoyed" their life and there is nothing left to live for. Where do people get this idea that becoming a Christian means the fun of living is over? How does becoming a child of the King of the Universe translate into a life of drudgery and boredom?

Part of it, of course, is just the lie that the devil plants into our sinful hearts: the lie that serving God is for chumps; that you have to be "free" to live your life any way you see fit if you want to be happy. We all buy into that philosophy easily enough, since it perfectly suits our selfish inclinations.

Another part of the problem is the way we in the church behave sometimes. I am acquainted with a lot of wonderful Christian brothers and sisters who express the joy of Christ in their day to day lives, and are fun people to hang with, simply because they have the love of God in their hearts and a real zest for living.

But there are far too many judgmental, condescending, uptight, unhappy and boorish Christians who may be impressed with their own piety, but don't do much of a job of advertising the love of Jesus to the people around them.

Speaking for myself, I can only say that my life never really began until the day I surrendered my life to God. I wouldn't trade my worst day as a Christian for my best day as a heathen. Finding the love and mercy of Jesus was the best thing that ever happened to me. You couldn't pay me enough to ever go back to my old life. Until I met God, I never knew what living really was.

Do you want to know real peace? Do you want to lay down at night in contentment, knowing that the maker of the universe is watching over you? Do you want to really enjoy the life you are living? Do you want to discover the meaning of your life, and experience a love that surrounds you and cherishes you? Do you want to truly know, in the depths of your soul, that God has forgiven you and loves you and will NEVER let you go?

The only way to know these things is to surrender your life to Jesus, and make him your Lord and Savior.

If you are putting off an encounter with Jesus because you have "some things you want to do" that you think are more important than meeting God, you have some seriously whacked-out priorities in your life. Get on the clue bus, Bubba!

Life is passing you by, and the devil is laughing behind your back. Every day that he can keep you away from God means you are one day closer to the possibility of spending eternity in hell - all because you think you can do better on your own.

There is nothing better than knowing God. There is no way to fulfill your purpose in life until you have put Jesus in charge of it. Forget every pre-conceived notion you have ever had. Forget your pride. Put aside your irrational fears and just come to Jesus, right now, the way you are, and let Him show you how much He loves you.

He truly is the nicest God you'll ever meet.