Can you remember the last time you really regretted not doing something? Purchasing Wal-Mart stock in the mid 80s; choosing a different career path; learning to play a certain instrument. We all make choices (or fail to) that, in hindsight, we wish we could have a second shot at. The overwhelming percentage of these choices seem to be fairly materialistic, for the most part, and hold little eternal value in the grand scheme of things.
But what choices do we make, or not make, that do have eternal consequences? I'll share a personal one with you that will surely stick with me for the rest of my days. I've had the tremendous blessing of sharing the gospel with quite a few people over the last several years, but about a year ago I came under conviction to sit down and write a letter to two fairly well known celebrities. The first was a professional golfer who I have ties with but haven't seen in a number of years. I sat down and constructed a four page letter that outlined the gospel in the purest form that I was able to put together. The very week that I finally mailed it I turned on the television to the news to see this gentleman being carried from the golf course by ambulance. He'd collapsed in the middle of a tournament due to a heart problem. Needless to say, my mouth was hanging open as I watched in disbelief. By the grace of God he is OK (physically) as of now and back to chasing the little white ball around the world.
The second letter to the other person is the one that has me troubled. You see, it was never written. I originally had two specific individuals on my heart and I made the choice not to act on the urging of the Holy Spirit, and Scripture, to reach out to both of them immediately. Of all the people in the world for God to ask me to reach, one miraculously survives a very serious heart condition; the other one didn't. Who was the other person, the one that never received the letter that was never written? His name was Steve Irwin, better known as The Crocodile Hunter. The morning that I read the press release about his shocking death I felt as though I'd been punched in the stomach, and I still do.
While the chances of my letter being the event that would cause him to fall to his knees in total surrender to the Lord being slim, I certainly don't know that wouldn't have been the case either. I do know that I was certainly disobedient to the Spirit's leading and, just like a child touching a heater for the first time, I have learned a terrible lesson from a tragic situation. God has graciously granted me another day's breath to not only reach the souls walking the streets of Houston with the gospel, but also the growing list of souls around the world that He has placed on my heart as well. I have committed to never face this situation again by allowing procrastination to stand between me and my calling as a follower of Christ. Time is so precious when death is lurking just around the corner, waiting to pounce at any moment.
So, who has crossed your heart lately? An old friend? Celebrity? Athlete? Neighbor? Total stranger walking down the street? There is a simple test to evaluate your level of concern for their eternal fate: Do you care enough to do something about it? Jesus said followers of His would be "fishers of men." Do you fit into that description?