“Immediately, if not sooner!”
June 22, 2024
“Return to your seats, immediately if not sooner.” “Stop talking, immediately if not sooner.” These were common directives many of my elementary school teachers would give to my classmates and me. My young mind could grasp the meaning of “immediately”, but not the meaning of doing something sooner than immediately. What could be sooner than immediately?
Over the years, and as I, quite frankly, used that phrase with my students, I came to understand the phrase was emphasizing the urgency and importance of completing a task promptly, and obeying the teacher without dillydallying. A good example of this immediacy is found in the gospel of Mark 1:17-18 where Jesus saw Simon and Andrew casting a net into the sea,
17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
Simon and Andrew heard the call of Jesus and obeyed at once without hesitation. And as we read the entire chapter, we see the word “immediately” used at least 11 of the 59 times it is used in the New Testament. Jesus is highly active in Mark 1 as He does this and then immediately rushes off to do that.
All of this makes me wonder why I and others do not always immediately obey. Could it be fear of failure, lack of motivation, perfectionism, poor time management, or distractions? Whatever the reason, we sometimes do not do things immediately if not sooner, and as a result, we may find ourselves putting off the things that God wants us to do.
What are some of those things? The first thing God wants us to do is accept His offer of salvation through Jesus Christ, His Son. We are hopeless in our sin and cannot be good enough to overcome our sin and enter His presence. Jesus came into the world to take the punishment we deserve.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. – 2 Corinthians 5:21
Secondly, God wants us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Thirdly, we can find a short punch list of things God wants us to do in Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Acting justly requires that we live with a sense of right and wrong and deal honestly and fairly with those around us. Loving mercy means we offer another chance to someone who does not deserve it. We walk humbly with our God by seeking His blessing and approval on our life decisions. God does not become merely a part of our lives; He IS our life.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20
When we focus on who we are in Christ and study the Scriptures, we will know what God wants us to do immediately if not sooner. What would our journey of faith be like if our response and obedience to God was immediate?
What is it that God wants you to do immediately if not sooner?