Let’s Work While There’s Light
by Lynda Allison Doty

A couple of years ago, I lost someone I love. Slowly, over time, I watched him die. Spiritually die. Backslide. I used to see him at his place at the organ, serving God, happy in His Father’s house. Now, he’s lost. His world is dark and ugly and filled with awful spiritual pain.

They are dying all around us! How many do you know of, have just slipped away quietly. One week they’re in church, next week they’re gone. They are wounded soldiers, limping away from God’s holy war,
unable to fight any more. They need rest, they need healing. Satan is wearing out the saints. The wounded are dying! Do we know how to help? Do we even care?

Oh people, we’re running out of time-let’s minister healing to them! Don’t let them die! It grieves God, He loves them, has a job that only they can do. Let’s open ourselves up to love one another and minister to each other. Jesus said By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, that ye have love one for another.”

It’s so easy to get caught up with the cares of this life. We’re all in this war and are being shot at by the enemy. We’re dodging Satan’s darts right and left. Many of us are fighting for our lives. And many of us are quitting. I hear it all the time. People don’t want to fight any more. It’s too hard. Too hard to pray. No time to read the Word. Pretty soon, we hurt so bad that we withdraw into a shell of material things. We change our focus and concentrate on worldly things because it helps to ease the pain.

And so we drift into a world of carnal, petty things. We worry that we don’t have the right tie, that our hair won’t go up just right, or that little Johnny’s teacher didn’t do right by him. We worry what
color to paint the bathroom, what spice to use at dinner, what’s on sale today at the Mall…. when, all around, our comrades are dying. I am so fearful that many of us will lose this war, when we find our
fancy house and car gone. Then what?

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with nice houses, and I wish I had a safer, more comfortable car, with all the driving that I do. We have to go on living, the Word is clear- occupy till He comes. But occupy doing what?

If we keep His first commandment, we will love the Lord our God with all our heart and mind and soul. And after that, we will love our neighbor as ourselves. On this hinges all the rest. If we work at loving-all the rest will fall into place. We will love our comrades. We will help them heal by ministering our love-His love-to them.

That’s what we need to be working on everyday. While there’s still light. Soon it will be so dark that no man can work.