You’ve heard it said that life is full of second chances. But, I’ve heard twice in one week, the mention of the possibility of just the opposite. Ahhh!!!!! Relax. It went something like this: We must listen to and act on Christ’s stirring of the heart because we never know if that opportunity may come again. What opportunity?
Let’s think on this a little. We do know that we don’t just choose to be saved, right? He stirs our heart to choose Him. Our parents can’t pass it on to us as if it’s a family possession. We don’t wake up one day and say today is the day, I’m going to be saved. It’s not about carpe diem, seizing or plucking the day. We choose whether or not to accept the salvation that Christ afforded to us, but it all starts with a stirring.
“It is the Spirit who gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some of you don’t believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) “That is what I meant when I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father brings them to me.”
John 6:63-65
A stirring in the heart. What does that mean? What’s she talking about? How can a heart be stirred? What’s it feel like? Search your minds, you guys know what I mean. Even the most imperceptible of us have experienced stirrings in our lives, in our hearts – you know, that tug at your heart – that inner voice saying sit up and listen – that intuition, a hunch, a perception – you know, something in your gut – for those of us who are “feelers,” that feeling you feel when you’re feeling. So now that we know what it is, what do we do about it? Answer the call of Christ. Many have answered the call, some are on the brink. He has put eternity in our hearts, when stirred, accept. Don’t delay. We may not have the opportunity again.
I have called you my name, you are mine.
Isaiah 32:1
Upon answering the call of Christ, our hearts will continue to be stirred. The stir to tell someone about Jesus and what He’s done for us, for them. The stir to talk about the change He’s made in our lives because of his death, burial and resurrection – that’s the Good News! The stir to talk about how sin has lost it’s grip on us – we no longer have to be slaves to it. The stir to talk about being filled with a peace that passes all understanding – not an easy life, but a peace-filled life. The stir to talk about who we are now through the power of Christ on the cross – the Spirit within.
This is why I remind you to fan the flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear or timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So you must never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.
2 Timothy 1:6-8
As Christians, all those things that stir our heart are beautiful things. Some painful things, but nonetheless beautiful. Why? Because they are stirrings of the Spirit. We don’t want to miss the opportunity to convey the saving power of our Lord – it is our responsibility as Christians, and the importance of which cannot be underestimated in as much as we may never have the opportunity again.