Not Now. Really?

By Paul Allen

Some people are conscientious enough in their self-awareness to deeply weigh issues and challenges. This guides their response. This is ‘good thinkin’ as long as the issue doesn’t get thorny or time-sensitive. Other people are less alert and seem to avoid any challenge. They simply want to be occupied with less confrontational matters. Yet, what does a person do when faced with something unavoidable? This is when they want to wave some kind of wand of hope, yet that means making yourself vulnerable, and this involves risk. This is the time when we say that something is “put in the back of our minds.”

Though this may not be scientifically accurate, it shows an inability to face facts. We’re saying to ourselves, “Hope this’ll go away.” I’ve had conversations with senior citizens and others who seem to be locked in to this line of thinking. An example might be when the doctor says that you have a serious or terminal illness. You can deal with the diagnosis or pretend that it is not seriously important. Really? Faced with this, is it really wise to say, ‘Not now”?

More critical than this, we see the testimony of the cemetery with its headstones. When will anyone deal with this? Not now. Really? I had several opportunities of talking with a man in the hospital who was the father of a close friend. With a serious illness, I talked with him many times about his life and what he believed about the end of life. I urged him to settle his eternity now, but he always said, “Not now.” It was not long before he was in a coma, and then died. Not reckon with your eternal future? Really?

We all have an eternal spirit, part of our Creator/God’s plan. He’s had the first word, and He shall have the last. What happens when this body ceases to exist? Many say, “I don’t want to think about it.” Really? No pretense. It won’t go away. God has the only victorious way for you. “Not now” gets you nowhere. No one can predict the last breath. All power and choice is gone.  Why fight His matchless blessing?