Wait until....

I went to pick up my mom for breakfast the other day and she said "Wait until I fold my laundry." I asked my sister if she wanted to go to Kohl's and she said "Wait until I put on my makeup."
I have asked my son if he wants to go eat lunch and he'll say "Can you wait until after the game?" 
I have done it myself..."Can you wait until I iron my shorts, or pick up my cleaning, or do my nails?"

Why do we do that?  We don't immediately accept the invitation because we feel like there is something more pressing. Most are things we can put off especially in light of the invitation.  I understand the laundry and the game- those don't really have anything to do with us, they are  personal decisions but the make-up, wrinkled shorts and nails....I get it!

I would never consider going out in public with chipped, half painted, broken fingernails.  Every time I placed my hands on the counter to sign a credit card receipt I would be reminded of their condition. And I rarely go out without any make-up fearing I would scare someone and lastly, you would be hard "pressed" to find me out in public in a wrinkled article of clothing.  

I, like many of you was just brought up like that.  My mother instilled a "wake up and be ready" attitude. "Never let someone catch you by surprise. You be made up, dressed up and ready." 

My older brother taught me my professional sense. "Make sure you are appropriately dressed, your shoes are shined and heels free of mud, nails done, hair combed and confidence in tact." 

So from an early age, I was taught not to present myself without being ready...even if I had to say "Wait until I..." 

Unfortunately, in adulthood, that has carried over to many, relative to accepting the message of Christ.  Many feel as I once did, that they have to "clean up" before accepting the invitation.  

The weight of our sins both past and present weigh us down and we feel like God could never accept someone so unworthy.  It doesn't help that the enemy preys on those feelings and with his mind games taunts us often suggesting that God is too pure to accept our sin. Like a broken or chipped nail, we are constantly reminded of our sin.

God is a holy God and God is too pure to tolerate sin but the truth is that He died for us while we were still sinners! He did not  "wait until" I changed. He died for me and as a result, I was changed! 

If we wait to accept Christ until we no longer sin, we will miss the opportunity for salvation. We all sin. Romans 3:23 says "For all have sinned  and come short of the glory of God."  No where in that verse does it say we don't have hope. In fact verse 24 says "we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came from Christ. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood" and He did that while we were still sinners! 

So if you have not accepted Christ as your personal Savior because you are going to "wait until" you no longer sin...forget it! Do it now. He died for you!

You see, just at the right time when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person though for a good person one might dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! 
Romans 5:6-8




[Emphasis added]