Recently I was travelling and our flight arrived later than was scheduled and our already tight layover was heart racing, pit in the stomach late. With agony we waited in the plane as the people in front of us slowly collected their bags, their water bottles, and their overhead carry on bags. We finally exited the plane and walked quickly and then ran to our next gate. Anxiety was rising, frustration was high, desperation was creeping in as we dodged people in the terminal in our obstacle course race to our goal. As our gate came in view, I held my breath and pleaded — please still be there, please still be there. And then as we got to the counter, I asked the all important question with which the answer would determine the fate of our day, “Are we too late?” Silence. And then the response that unleashed celebration, “No, it is not too late, you can still board the plane.” We made the plane. As our heart rates slowly dipped from stroke level, we celebrated because we knew even though we were not on time, that we were not too late, that we had made it. We realized that the plans we had for the day were still possible. A wave of relief and hope came over us and all of a sudden, anything was possible.
Students across America have passed over the midway point of summer break, (if you are in states like Arizona, you only have 2 weeks left) and many students look at what they hoped to accomplish this summer and realize that they haven’t gotten too far on the list. Instead of getting summer reading done early, you still don’t have the book. Instead of getting in shape, you have developed a habit of Netflix binging and junk food lunches, though to your credit you really believe Pokemon GO will be the secret answer to getting in shape by the start of school. Many students and maybe teachers find themselves at the point of giving up on the summer goals and mark the summer of 2016 as another unmet expectation.
Adult type people might find themselves stuck in a life season that is not what they had hoped for or dreamed of. You might find yourself single at 30 and are starting to entertain the idea of lowering your standards because there just aren’t good guys or girls out there anymore. You might be a person whose job is going nowhere and is destined to 30 more years of the same thing over and over again and you are ready just to give up on trying to make a difference. You might be a person who feels alone and it seems like there is nothing else you can do to create real relationships.
I want to encourage you to not give up. It is not too late! No matter where you are at and your circumstance I believe that there is still time to make motion happen, to make a difference, to live a life of purpose, to impact your school, business, community. I believe that unbelievable potential is daily lost each day to the lie of, “It is too late.” I want to encourage you with a simple Truth, “It’s Not Too Late!”
In Matthew 20 – Jesus tells a parable of a day in the life of day workers. A land owner goes out early in the day and hires workers who are wanting work and then he goes out 2 hours later and hires more and 2 hours later and hires more and 2 hours later and hires more and finally an hour before the end of the day he goes out and hires more people to work in his field. At the end of the day he pays the workers and he ends up paying everyone the same. Of course the people who worked all day feel like they have been mistreated, but the owner comes back with the heart of Jesus – “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?“ This is the same attitude that Jesus has for you in your stuck place. This is the same attitude Jesus has for you in the place that you have procrastinated in. He wants to be generous with you. He wants to give you great gifts. Jesus has never been about fairness, He has always been about generosity – giving people what they don’t deserve.
If you are like me there are plenty of areas of my life that I don’t deserve generosity in. I haven’t eaten well. I haven’t exercised. I don’t deserve to be in shape or be healthy. But I believe Jesus can still give me a healthy life. But here is the catch, I have a responsibility. I need to make the first move to put myself in a place to experience the generosity of Jesus. The last worker hired that worked only an hour doesn’t get paid anything unless he agrees to go to work. The Bible doesn’t say how many people when offered a job in the last hour said, “Man the day is almost over, I think I will give up and try again tomorrow and walked away from the possibility of experiencing generosity of the master.” Where do you need to make a step in your life so that you can experience the generosity of Jesus? Is it texting or calling someone to encourage them? Is it opening the summer reading book? Is it forgiving someone? Is it believing in yourself? Is it looking for a new job? Is it getting up and doing 30 sit ups and 15 minutes of hot yoga? What is it? It’s Not Too Late! Step into a place where Jesus can extend generosity.