Hadley Baker
Do you get a kick out of watching infomercials on television? I sure do. I mean what’s not to love—they are hilarious! You have this guy who is WAY too excited about this product he is selling. I just wanna say, “Bro calm down...it’s only a blanket with arms!” No offense to all you people who own a Snuggie. So many commercials, so many products.—and they all promise to make your crappy life better. This product will make you look two dress sizes smaller. This one will get rid of all your acne. This one will save you tons of time cutting up your fresh vegetables. BUT WAIT! There’s more! If you call now—they will double your order for FREE (just pay separate processing and handling). But hurry, this offer ends soon! And the best part about all of it...if you aren’t 100% satisfied with the product, you get a money back guarantee! Talk about the hook up! Try it out and if you don’t like it get your money back? Sounds like a sweet deal to me. Gotta love infomercials!
In our consumer-minded culture (where the customer is always right) you can get your money back on about anything. Just show your receipt of purchase and here comes your refund. Wal-Mart, Target, and my personal favorite Ross (don’t act like you don’t shop there) will give you back your money if you have a receipt. I grew up hearing older people say, “Hold onto your money! Once you spend it, it’s gone!” Not always! If the store has a good return policy and you have a receipt that little rule does not apply.
But there is one thing that you are spending every day that has no receipt—TIME. No matter how you spend your time, you can never get it back. Whether you spend it being a bum sleeping all day, or get up early to workout out...that time is gone and you can never get it back. There is no “return policy” in this life. We cannot appeal to God and say, “Hey I realize now that I wish I hadn’t spent my time that way, can I get a refund and get that time back?” Once it is spent, time (unlike money) is gone.
Most students don’t really think about time. When you are young you feel like you will live forever. Because of this, many students waste their middle school and high school years. We think about being a missionary as doing work in Mexico or Africa, but God has put you on a mission field every single day—the public campus! Think about that! You are surrounded every single day by people looking for purpose, meaning, acceptance. As a follower of Christ, you have the Answer they are looking for living inside of you. You have the potential to make a HUGE impact for Him.
So why don’t more Christian students take this seriously and spend these years making Christ the focus of their lives? For many, it’s because they think they have plenty of time. They know they need to get serious about their relationship with Jesus, but they wanna wait and do that LATER.
I will tell someone about Jesus...LATER.
I will pray...LATER.
I will study and learn the Bible... LATER.
Then it happens. One day you are sitting in a huge room wearing a gown with a funny cap. Your name is called on a loud speaker. You walk across a stage as people clap and cheer for you. Your principal smiles and hands you a diploma. That’s when it hits you. Your time as a student is OVER. And what you did or did not do is cemented in time. There is no going back. There are no do-overs. It’s a done deal. The time you had has been spent. And there is no return policy. There is no receipt.
READ JAMES 4:13-16 (The Living Bible)
Look here, you people who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to such and such a town, stay there a year, and open up a profitable business.” 14 How do you know what is going to happen tomorrow? For the length of your lives is as uncertain as the morning fog—now you see it; soon it is gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you will be bragging about your own plans, and such self-confidence never pleases God.
I wanna keep it real with you. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not guaranteed. Make TODAY count. Get serious about living this Jesus life. God has an AMAZING plan and purpose for your life. He wants to use YOU to bring lost students to Himself. He is waiting on you. The truth is many (not all) of you are spending the best years of your life on things that ultimately do not matter. Why not exchange the time you have now for something that will last for all of eternity? Today you have been given the gift of time. How will you spend it?
Do you get a kick out of watching infomercials on television? I sure do. I mean what’s not to love—they are hilarious! You have this guy who is WAY too excited about this product he is selling. I just wanna say, “Bro calm down...it’s only a blanket with arms!” No offense to all you people who own a Snuggie. So many commercials, so many products.—and they all promise to make your crappy life better. This product will make you look two dress sizes smaller. This one will get rid of all your acne. This one will save you tons of time cutting up your fresh vegetables. BUT WAIT! There’s more! If you call now—they will double your order for FREE (just pay separate processing and handling). But hurry, this offer ends soon! And the best part about all of it...if you aren’t 100% satisfied with the product, you get a money back guarantee! Talk about the hook up! Try it out and if you don’t like it get your money back? Sounds like a sweet deal to me. Gotta love infomercials!
In our consumer-minded culture (where the customer is always right) you can get your money back on about anything. Just show your receipt of purchase and here comes your refund. Wal-Mart, Target, and my personal favorite Ross (don’t act like you don’t shop there) will give you back your money if you have a receipt. I grew up hearing older people say, “Hold onto your money! Once you spend it, it’s gone!” Not always! If the store has a good return policy and you have a receipt that little rule does not apply.
But there is one thing that you are spending every day that has no receipt—TIME. No matter how you spend your time, you can never get it back. Whether you spend it being a bum sleeping all day, or get up early to workout out...that time is gone and you can never get it back. There is no “return policy” in this life. We cannot appeal to God and say, “Hey I realize now that I wish I hadn’t spent my time that way, can I get a refund and get that time back?” Once it is spent, time (unlike money) is gone.
Most students don’t really think about time. When you are young you feel like you will live forever. Because of this, many students waste their middle school and high school years. We think about being a missionary as doing work in Mexico or Africa, but God has put you on a mission field every single day—the public campus! Think about that! You are surrounded every single day by people looking for purpose, meaning, acceptance. As a follower of Christ, you have the Answer they are looking for living inside of you. You have the potential to make a HUGE impact for Him.
So why don’t more Christian students take this seriously and spend these years making Christ the focus of their lives? For many, it’s because they think they have plenty of time. They know they need to get serious about their relationship with Jesus, but they wanna wait and do that LATER.
I will tell someone about Jesus...LATER.
I will pray...LATER.
I will study and learn the Bible... LATER.
Then it happens. One day you are sitting in a huge room wearing a gown with a funny cap. Your name is called on a loud speaker. You walk across a stage as people clap and cheer for you. Your principal smiles and hands you a diploma. That’s when it hits you. Your time as a student is OVER. And what you did or did not do is cemented in time. There is no going back. There are no do-overs. It’s a done deal. The time you had has been spent. And there is no return policy. There is no receipt.
READ JAMES 4:13-16 (The Living Bible)
Look here, you people who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to such and such a town, stay there a year, and open up a profitable business.” 14 How do you know what is going to happen tomorrow? For the length of your lives is as uncertain as the morning fog—now you see it; soon it is gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you will be bragging about your own plans, and such self-confidence never pleases God.
I wanna keep it real with you. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not guaranteed. Make TODAY count. Get serious about living this Jesus life. God has an AMAZING plan and purpose for your life. He wants to use YOU to bring lost students to Himself. He is waiting on you. The truth is many (not all) of you are spending the best years of your life on things that ultimately do not matter. Why not exchange the time you have now for something that will last for all of eternity? Today you have been given the gift of time. How will you spend it?
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