The 100 Percent

No More Delay: What Are You Waiting For | Day 13

"Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Hebrews 9:27-28, NIV

Comfort and courage to you this morning.

We live in a world full of percentages, chances, risks, and odds. Some numbers comfort us and others unsettle us. There is one number, though, that never moves. It does not rise or fall with age, health, or wealth. Unless Christ returns first, death comes to one hundred percent of us. That is a hard place to begin a morning, except for what stands behind that number.

The One Statistic That Never Moves

Scripture speaks plainly and kindly. "Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment," (Hebrews 9:27, NIV). Those words are not written to make us morbid but to make us honest, because honesty is where comfort becomes possible. Death is not simply a natural stage of life. It entered this world because of sin. Paul says so in a sentence that does not stop where we expect. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV). A wage is earned, and sin earned this one. A gift is given freely, and God has handed it over. The second half of that sentence is much the larger.

Because death is followed by judgment, our time matters. Scripture offers no second life to improve a record, no conversion beyond the grave. The time to hear Christ is now. The time to speak Christ is now. That is not a threat hanging over us. It is why the news we carry is such good news, and why Moses prayed as he did. "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12, NIV). Numbering our days has nothing to do with dwelling on death. It means living wisely and gladly, spending what God has given rather than assuming it is endless.

James says it with striking clarity. "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'" (James 4:13-15, NIV). We make plans, and planning is not wrong. We are not sovereign over tomorrow. Life is a mist, and a mist is no small thing when God gave it.

We often live as though there will always be more time. More time to forgive. More time to teach our children the faith. More time to tell someone that Jesus Christ died and rose for sinners. Forgiveness for every delay is real and full in Christ, and grace is never permission to keep putting love off. The people in our homes are not guaranteed tomorrow, and that is why this morning is a gift.

The Appointment Christ Already Kept

Hebrews does not leave us staring at that appointment. The same sentence turns to the one Christ already kept. "so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." (Hebrews 9:28, NIV). The word many must never be twisted into a limited group. Christ did not die for a select few. He took away the sins of the multitude, the whole world of sinners, and that comfort is wide enough for everyone we love and everyone we fear we waited too long to reach.

Jesus Christ met death head on. He did not avoid the grave. He entered it, bore our sins, suffered the judgment we deserved, and gave his life once and completely. His sacrifice does not need repeating, and his victory does not need our contribution. Our assurance never rested on how prepared we feel. It rests on Jesus Christ, who was sacrificed once to take sin away.

That comfort matters, because many of us have stood beside the graves of people we loved. Jesus knows that sorrow. John does not place his greatest promise in a classroom. He places it near a tomb, spoken to a grieving sister. "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?'" (John 11:25-26, NIV). He spoke into her grief, then called her brother out of the grave to show the promise had weight. Because he lives, death does not get the final word over anyone who believes in him.

That is why Paul taunts death itself. "'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:55-57, NIV). Death still hurts and still brings tears. For those who belong to Christ it has lost its victory and its sting, because sin has been paid for, the law has been fulfilled, and Jesus Christ has risen.

That victory is why the joy of faith belongs in our homes. Paul had already told Timothy that the faith living in him had lived first in his grandmother Lois and in his mother Eunice. Later in the same letter he wrote this. "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:14-15, NIV). Notice what those Scriptures did. They made him wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. There is the whole gift in one line. The Father's love reaches a child, the Son's finished work is what that child hears, and the Holy Spirit creates the faith that receives it. No parent manufactures that, and no parent was meant to carry that weight. What God asks of a household is that his word be in it, at the table, in the car, at bedtime, spoken and prayed and remembered.

We do not need to know how many days remain to live this one gladly. We know enough. Death is real, judgment is real, sin is real, and Jesus Christ is greater than all three. He gave himself for the sins of the world. He rose in victory. He speaks life into graves. He will appear a second time, not to bear sin again but to bring salvation to people waiting for him. The one statistic that never moves does not get the last word. Jesus Christ does.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, teach me to number my days with wisdom rather than with fear. Forgive me for the times I have lived as though there would always be more time. Keep my eyes fixed on your finished work, and give me courage to speak your saving word while today is still in front of me.

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me the victory through my Lord Jesus Christ. Comfort me with the promise that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Help me teach, pray, love, forgive, and speak the gospel in the ordinary moments of my life, trusting that death has been defeated and that my Savior will bring me home. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Whatever this day holds for you, hold onto this: the number that never moves is not the last thing anyone has to say about your life. Christ already met it, went through it, and came back, and he has been carrying people through that same door ever since. So live this day gladly, and talk about him at the table tonight. Tomorrow we will consider what does and does not make the trip when life in this world comes to an end, and why treasure placed in Christ can never be lost.

To God be the glory.

Pray, praise, and give thanks, for God is good and His mercy endures forever.

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