Keeping God at Arm's LengthSample

One last – and, arguably, the most ridiculous – way we keep God at arm’s length is by assuming we’ll have time to work on our relationship with Him later. Perhaps in our later years, after we’re done living life to the fullest, maybe then we’ll give God the full measure of what remains of our time. Many believers won’t say that out loud, but, in practice, that is precisely what they are doing: living for God just enough to get by, never fully committing, always assuming there will be time later to make up for it.

But what if there isn’t? What if later never comes? (Proverb 27:1) What if, like the rich fool in Jesus’ parable, our lives are demanded of us this very night? (Luke 12:20) We love to plan for the future, as Solomon noted, for all that might be, all the while ignorant of the course God has set for our lives. (Proverb 16:9) As James explained, we really don’t even know that we have a tomorrow! (James 4:14)

As surely as our mortal days are numbered (Psalm 90:12), we must cultivate a relationship with God in the here and now, not at some later time that may never come.