We always think there is going to be more time.

Over and over again we hear a story about someone who just wasn’t ready for something to happen.  Often it is regrets over the loss of a loved one, perhaps a broken relationship, or suddenly realizing your kids grew up while you were busy at work.  We always think there is going to be more time.

I put off work to browse Facebook, thinking that I’ll find more time to finish my tasks later.  I press snooze on the alarm clock as many times as I think I can get away with, usually resulting in missing the first 5 minutes of my work day.  I pay my bills at the last possible moment, not because I don’t have the funds, but rather because I forget what time it is.

I’ve heard people wonder about the Holocaust, asking how it could have gotten so bad, how could no one do anything to stop it.  I’ve heard the same about things like so many different conflicts and tragedies.  People can always look backwards and see the signs of an approaching catastrophe, but always wonder why no one stopped it.  The list is long, Somalia, Syria, ISIS, Kosovo, and Rwanda come to mind, with many more that could be added.  We always believe we have more time.

There is a new genocide brewing in the world, many organizations are already pointing towards it, begging someone to do something.  We are running out of time.

There is a clear and present threat of a coming terrible genocide in South Sudan.

I don’t what I can do to change it, I don’t know if anyone can do anything, but in pursuing peace there are difficult things that must be done.  At the moment the only thing I can think of to do is tell everyone I know that it is coming, perhaps it has already begun.

Sometimes it is difficult to care for people we will never meet, but if you live life from a Christian worldview, can you imagine Jesus being unaffected by this news?  Would Jesus shrug his shoulders and say “That sucks…oh well, nothing I can do about it.”  Even when the Canaanite women asked Jesus to heal her, and he told her that he was sent to the people of Israel, he acted to heal her because her faith was great.   How much more is our mission to reach the whole earth?

What if we lived in a world where the Church knew how to intervene in a crisis like this?

What would that even look like?

What would it take for the Church to intervene?  Unity, for one thing.  We would have to be united in following the God man who gave his life to heal the divide between us and God.  Surely he would desire that same unity in those who are called by his name.

The Church is the most powerful organization on the face of the planet, and we squander that power so that we can stay comfortably content in our padded seats, meeting together on Sundays to have coffee and hear someone talk about finding our best life now.

Blessed are the peacemakers.  Not the coffee drinkers.

Time is a precious thing.

Never waste it.