Why We Must Come Before Winter

Do your best to come before Winter. There are some things that if we put off for to long, they will never get done. For instance: had I decided to put off writing this piece, it probably never would have ended up being written.

As the apostle Paul waited in prison knowing that the time of his death was at hand, he wrote a letter to Timothy. The setting was most likely in the fall. Paul wanted to spend the last moments of his life with his good friend Timothy (along with Mark). He told Timothy to do his best to come meet him before Winter. Had Timothy waited until Winter, he would then again have to wait until Spring. During the Winter months it would have been nearly impossible for Timothy to travel from Ephesus to Rome where Paul was being held, and the weather would likely not permit it. There was also the fact that Paul wanted Timothy to bring Mark along with him as Mark was useful to Paul's ministry. Also, there was the matter that Timothy would have to make a stop in Troas to bring with him some books and important parchments upon Paul's request. It would have been time consuming, and aside from that; only after Timothy had put his church affairs in order would he be able to leave.

There is not much said or written on whether Timothy ever made it to Paul. Still, I believe that due to many obstacles and hindrances that Timothy endured on his trip to Rome that he arrived too late. When he had eventually arrived at his destination, I believe that Timothy was informed by the church that Paul had already been executed days, maybe weeks before he had ever made it to Rome.

Regardless if it was Timothy's fault or not, time was of the essence.

One takeaway that we can learn from the end of Paul's letter to Timothy is that time is very precious because it is one thing that we will never be able to fully know how much we have. Even if we are wise at managing our time, we know that things may not always go according to our plans. As Adults, by now I am sure that we know that the world and along with that, time, is consistently changing.

That brings me to the purpose of this writing. Because life is so unpredictable, and we can never be sure of how long we will live on this earth, we must stop procrastinating, and putting off salvation. We must stop contemplating accepting Christ because although we may be young and strong today and we may assure ourselves that we will have long lives, circumstances can happen. Some may read this piece not long after it is written, and it may persuade them to receive Christ's salvation at that moment. Others may read this piece now, and when they are finished reading it, they may say, "tomorrow", or, "I will do it later", or, "... another time". However, for some there will be no tomorrow. To those reading this message, ask yourself this question. 'Where will I be if I die tomorrow? Will I be in Heaven or Hell? Is putting Christ off till later worth risking my eternity over'. Some may wonder about the subject of this piece. Others may take it seriously, and some may scoff at it. Either way, do not wait until Winter. Because as Spring follows time will begin to drag on, and the consideration that you once had for accepting Christ will then turn to reluctance. It is imperative that we accept Christ now.