waiting for salmonella

when i bake, i taste. i love cookie dough. i love cake batter. i love the makings of zucchini bread and the stretchy goodness before i put muffins in the oven.
i remember when i was growing up in nigeria, mom always warned: don't eat raw egg, because it could have salmonella, which is a terrible disease!
but even as a kid afraid of sickness, i would sometimes ignore the warning and sneak a gobby glob of scrumptious dough. in the moment i thought, 'if i get salmonella, i won't eat any more raw dough!' 
uh, HELLO!! by then it's too late! that's ridiculous reasoning!
you may think, 'of course a kid uses rationale like that! it is ridiculous though, to just keep eating the dough till you get salmonella!'
but that's exactly how adults treat salvation.
we trot along in our tra-la-la lives, thinking, 'i don't need to deal with thoughts about God or sin or salvation or the afterlife or heaven and hell...
i'm too busy. 
it's too stressful. 
there are some things we just don't know, so i'm not going to even ask the questions. 
i think it will all just work out in the end and if i'm meant to find out about God, i will.'
but if you wait till 'the end' to find out if there really is a God and if He really did require salvation through Jesus alone, it's too late.
Jesus told a story (Luke 16:19-31) about a really rich guy who had no concern for following what God said. there was also a beggar named Lazarus who lived right outside the rich man's lavish home. even though the beggar was suffering and never 'made it' in life, he paid attention to God, and when the two men died, Lazarus went to heaven and the rich man went to hell. in this particular story, the rich man cries out from where he is burning and suffering in hell and begs to be given relief from his pain. he is so desperate, all he asks for is a drop of water for his scorching tongue. but he is given no second chance, no relief. he made his choice on earth to live how he lived and believe what he believed, and when he died, he had to 'sleep in the bed he made.'
if you haven't taken the time to really ask God for the truth and then listen to what He might have to say, what's your reason? here are some i've heard, along with my thoughts:

don't all religions say the same thing?
if i asked you where your house was, you'd most likely give me an address. and if i want to see your house, i have to be on that particular street, at that particular number, to find it. if you told me your address was 246 vine street, but i went to 589 granite ave, and then called you saying i didn't think it mattered what address i went to, you'd think i was an idiot!

when i was little, my uncle said he was Christian, but he abused me.
if you told me about a great restaurant and i said, 'i knew someone who said he went there and he's a total jerk!' would that be a good reason not to go check the restaurant out?

Christianity? it's not for me.
you're thinking of life like a buffet line, with all the 'religions' out on the table for you to pick and choose, but Christianity is different. it's not something you can choose to need or not. think of a type 1 diabetic person. they need insulin, or they will die. their body is not producing that molecule like the rest of us and will not function without it. if a type 1 diabetic says, 'oh, insulin? that's not for me,' they are dead.

i've done too much bad stuff for God to save me!
say you drive your car on a slushy road with salt and ice and truck gunk all flying up and sticking to your windshield... then drive down a muddy dirt road behind a big semi-trailer... then, for good measure, get out of your car and use a bucket to heap up sand and dirt and mud and grime all over the car. gross. mix it all up with dead leaves and slime... then spit on it. THEN, drive to a car wash, buy the best option they have............. and your car comes out sparkly shiny clean on the other side! it doesn't matter if you have a lot of dirt or a little bit of dirt when you go in, the wash will clean you just as well as anyone.

if God's out there, i'll find out and it will all work out. 
that's like saying, 'if there's a job out there for me, it'll find me. i'm just going to sit in my house all day everyday watching tv and eating cheetos.' 

i don't know if it matters anyway.
if you were driving down the highway and suddenly heard a huge 'CLUNK' under your car and felt a bump, you probably wouldn't say, 'i don't know if it matters... i'm just going to keep driving.' no, you'd pull over and get out of the car to FIND OUT if it matters!

how much raw dough have you been eating, daring salmonella to infect you? how much longer are you going to wait to check and see if Jesus is worth a second look? a day? a week? ten years? do you even know, and i mean 100%, that you'll be alive next week?
do you really believe that this earth is all there is, or do you think somewhere deep down that you were made for something more, something exciting and beautiful?
do you really think your life is just fine as it is, or do you find yourself craving something joyous, something more abundant?
are you really content to live your life just for you, to make you happy, or do you ache to please Someone bigger, Someone who sees your thoughts and actions when no one else does, Someone who cared so much for you that He gave His life in place of yours?

Jesus said,
"I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life, 
and have it to the full."
John 10:7-10