Hebrews 12:15-17:

 15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;
 16 that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.
 17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

Remember Esau?  He disregarded his birthright, a special gift God had given him as the eldest son, for something as common as a bowl of soup.  He treated something holy as basically worthless.  It's a horrible thing to sell God's grace, isn't it?

What really struck me here is Esau "found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears."  Esau really, really wanted his birthright back, but it was too late.  He was rejected.  He did not inherit the blessing. 

I think also of Moses, who did not treat God as holy before the people.  God did not allow Moses to enter the promised land because of his ONE SIN!  I imagine this was devastating to Moses.  He had worked for 40 years to bring these ingrates through the wilderness and he did not get to enter the land himself!

You know what these examples tell me? 

1.  God doesn't owe men ANYTHING.  Whatever good things we have today are because of God's grace towards us.  They are gifts, pure and simple.  We don't deserve any of it.

2.  God doesn't owe men salvation.  Jesus did not make His great sacrifice because He had to.  He did it fully out of a sense of great love and grace towards mankind.

3.  God doesn't owe us time to repent of our sins.  On a personal level, God does not have to wait for us to understand the blackness of our night or allow us time to come to the light.  But 2 Peter 3:9 says He "is patient towards you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." 

God does not guarantee each of us the time to repent - we just know He is very patient.  There may come a day when we find no further chances to repent.  Some people hear God's call, they feel God pulling at them, but they think, "I still have time to live a little longer for myself - then I'll live for God."  Folks, there is a time when we will find no place for repentance!  Let us not push God's patience too far.  If there is something in your life RIGHT NOW that you know you need to take care of - do it RIGHT NOW!  Talk to God.  Repent.  Make that decision to change.  And then change.  Time is short.  Eternity hangs in the balances.

I love you all,
Nathan