Acts 10:34-48

In life, we have moments when we wish we could just freeze the time, such as a beautiful winter sunset. But time never stands still, and every second counts.

In the 1946 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals played the Boston Red Sox.  The Series lasted seven games with the score tied late in the game with three runs for each team.  Enos Slaughter got on first base for the Cardinals, and I believe that Harry Walker had a long single.  The ball was thrown back to Boston’s second baseman, Johnny Pesky.  Now, Pesky had no idea that Slaughter would not stop on third base.  Pesky held the ball and Slaughter kept running.  When Pesky did throw the ball home, it was too late and Slaughter slid across home plate with the winning run.  On the baseball field, time did not stand still for the running Slaughter.  I listened to that series on the radio as a ten-year-old boy and I have loved the game ever since.

Time did not stand still for the growth and spreading of God’s plan of salvation.  The Good News is that Jesus Christ died to save all of us from our sin and evil.  In his own faith, Simon Peter experienced that the Good News in Jesus was for anyone that would believe and accept Jesus as their own Savior.

“Then Peter replied, ‘I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.  In every nation, he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.  This is the message of the Good News for the people of Israel that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ who is Lord of all.  You know what happened throughout Judea beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism and you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.  Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.’”

In his faith experience, Simon Peter also knew that time demands choices.  As an apostle, he believed that faith in Jesus Christ was not just for the Jewish family.  The God he served also was the God of the Gentiles.  In this moment in time, Peter made the decision to accept Gentiles into the Christian family. 

 “Even as Peter was saying these things the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message.  The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.  Then Peter asked, ‘Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?’  So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.  Afterward, Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days.”

Peter made that choice in that moment in time to accept the Gentiles into the Christian faith.  Sometimes we do not take action on God’s salvation plan or other major life-shaping decisions until the window of time closes.  

Someone sent me an e-mail by an unknown author that tells us to say and do what we need to do before the window of time closes the opportunity:  

“Recently, I overheard a Mother and daughter in their last moments together at a regional airport.  They had announced her departure and standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, ‘I love you, I wish you enough.’

She in turn said, ‘Mom, our life together has been more than enough.  Your love is all I ever needed.  I wish you enough, too, Mom.’  They kissed and she left.

She walked over toward the window where I was seated.  Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry.  I tried not to intrude on her privacy, but she welcomed me in by asking, ‘Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?’

‘Yes, I have,’ I replied. ‘Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?’ I asked.

‘I am old and she lives much too far away.  I have challenges ahead and the reality is, the next trip back will be for my funeral,’ she said.

‘When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?’

She began to smile.  ‘That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations.  My parents used to say it to everyone.’

She paused for a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, she smiled even more. 

‘When we said, ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them,’ she continued.  Then turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory.

‘I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.  I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.  I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.  I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.  I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.  I wish enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.  I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.’

She then began to sob and walked away.

My friends and loved ones, I wish you ENOUGH!!!!  They say ‘It takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them.’”

We need to tell people about God’s love for them and our love for them.

Many forces shape our lives.  Our age is a factor: youth, the middle years, and twilight time, affect the choices we make in that window of time.  Many of our communities of faith in Jesus Christ are now rejecting and ignoring the vital link of life to come.  This kind of influence makes the faith of the church ‘drab.’  The Christian life has been dulled and lost when the message of God’s love and salvation plan is no longer the heart of our message.

We have the opportunity that grows out of our faith in Jesus to offer a new life to someone we know.  In our window of time, are we sharing how a relationship with Jesus Christ can bring true joy, love, and grace by our lives coming under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit?