There’s an old hymn called “When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder”, and you’ve probably heard it many times. That got me thinking today. The line in the song says, “When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there”. There’s a million things you could be doing when Jesus returns. When He calls out His own, “THERE” is where you want to be, not somewhere else. I’ve said it before, “You don’t want to be at the airport when your ship comes in”. And sadly, not everyone is going to be “there” when the roll is called.

In Luke 13:23-27, it is written:
23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

You know how busy it is these days, and how hard it is to make enough time to spend with the LORD each day. We have jobs, livings to make, families to feed, bills to pay. And when we get REALLY busy, what is the first thing that goes by the wayside? DING! DING! DING!, we have a winner here folks: It’s our time spent with the LORD.

The Lord Jesus lays it right on the line here, He said MANY, that being translated in the Greek to mean “the majority of”, will seek to enter into God’s Kingdom, and shall not be able. Now help me out here: It is written in 2 Peter 3:9, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. If GOD is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, then where’s the problem?

The problem lies in “our free will”, in that WE choose each day what we will give our priority to. Many, the majority of, give priority to their daily tasks, and there be FEW who put God in first place in their lives. Now if you truly realized the value of your own soul, you would build everything in your schedule around putting God first, for your soul is your most valuable possession. Yet the devil does all he can to get our minds off God, and keeps us occupied every day doing everything BUT putting God in first place. Many of the things we do every day are not evil in themselves, but everything that takes our attention off of God is doing nothing less than destroying our soul.

Do you remember the day you got saved? Here’s where I’m going with this: The day you got saved, if you did, you were so much in love with God, that you couldn’t wait to tell everyone about Him. We will say that was ten years ago, or maybe even twenty or more. Are you STILL telling everyone you meet about how much you love Jesus? Or has the fire fizzled out? Have other things taken your heart off of how important Jesus is to you, to the point He isn’t in the driver’s seat of your life anymore, but is riding in the back seat, that is, if He’s even invited to come along?

You married folks, remember your wedding day, how you pursued your mate relentlessly until your love was returned to you? There was a time you rode in the car, and it was hard to tell who was driving, because there was no space between you, even for light to get in between. But now, years later, you’re on one side of the car, and she is on the other. Looks to me like someone MOVED! What happened here? Did love die down? Did the relationship become boring? Are you now two people living in the same house instead of two people in love being made one?

Nobody intends in the beginning that love should fizzle down and burn out. But if we don’t give priority to keeping that fire burning, that’s EXACTLY what happens. Look at your mate sitting next to you, is your heart still on fire and in love with them? Be honest now, you may fool me, but you’re not fooling God. Has something else come in to cool the flames? Only you can answer that. Do you still wake up in the morning and can’t wait to hold that person in your arms? My, how our lives change! The very things that were so vital back then are not so important now. Looking back, where did it start? It started the day that person was no longer your first priority. Maybe you just got busy doing other things. And it snowballs from there.

It is written in Exodus 20:3, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Now that’s pretty simple and to the point. His place is to be your number one priority, not your second or third. Not your mate, not your family, not your job, or possessions or your money. Friends, if you’re setting your eyes upon a heavenly future, your priority can be but one only, and that is putting and keeping God on the throne of your life. Nothing less will do.

We want a “full time” God? Well, He wants “full time” children, simple as that! He is a very jealous God, and He won’t settle for second place in your life. Maybe life’s “stuff” has managed to get your eyes off of God, and you’ve let your time with God become less important than it once was. They call it “backsliding”. But there’s a cure: “slide back”. Just as you can renew a relationship that has fizzled out by really putting the effort into it like you did at first, you can get things right with God again.

Maybe you never made that commitment to God in the first place. There’s no better time than right now. I realize not everyone who reads my letters is saved. Maybe you think you have a good reason for standing apart from God, I don’t know. Maybe someone in the ministry hurt you, or maybe you just haven’t heard how very much God loves you. Maybe you’re having “too much fun” struggling through your life without God’s grace upon you. Whatever the reason, think about this: “When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder, I’ll Be__________.” Where are YOU going to be? You fill in the blank. Jesus is coming back at some point. Are you going with Him, or will you be left behind because something else was more important to you? It’s decision time! Make the right one, right now!