The decision of your life

"Seek the LORD while he may be found..." Isaiah 55.6

What did disciples Judas Iscariot and Simon Peter have in common? They both betrayed Jesus. What distinguishes them? One repented the other merely had regrets. Yet both responses have eternal consequences. For Peter repentance led to forgiveness and renewal. Judas' regrets led him to take his own life and thence to hell.

It may seem like we have all the time in the world - and one day we shall! Yet by then it will be too late to address the consequences of the decisions we make now. We all make mistakes and, in those mistakes, sin against God who calls us to be perfect. Jesus has prepared an antidote for that, available to all who will swallow their pride and confess their own weakness and guilt. But for those too proud... they must bear their own judgment.

It is heart-breaking to see those around us rushing towards eternal self-destruction; many of them decent enough people, many who we know and love. We may not be their judge but the Bible is clear enough about the consequences of our actions for us to appreciate the danger they face without any intervention from us. And that is the point! We may not be anyone's judge but the one who is has given to his faithful people the keys to heaven and hell. And where do we find them? In our intercessions and in our willingness to share Jesus and his power to forgive and renew those who will trust him.