May 2010 - Pastor Carlan's Blog

Dear Friends in Faith,

This past week I opened my copy of the local newspaper Hernando Today to read about the Hernando County Fair and all the events scheduled for April 16, 17, and 18th—the bands and shows and tractor pull. I went on to read in the paper about our Kids’ Karnival held last Sunday. I even perused the Bealls ad for their 2-day sale on Friday and Saturday, April 16th and 17th. The problem? I didn’t get a copy of the paper until Monday, April 19th! All those events described in the newspaper had already passed by the time I knew about them. I found out what was happening too late. The episode got me to thinking about all the things in our lives that we realize too late—as the saying goes,“Too soon old, too late schmart!”

What have you realized too late? What are you in danger of learning too late to be of any use?

As a pastor I have often been asked what my understanding of hell is—mostly by people who were concerned that they might end up there! The New Testament gives us a lot of images of the place of punishment. Perhaps the most prominent among them is the idea that hell is a place of unending flames of torment. That image comes from the word itself, because the Greek word is derived from the phrase “Hinnom Valley” where ancient pagan peoples used to offer human sacrifices and where the Jews, subsequently, had their garbage dump for the city of Jerusalem (hence the burning fires to destroy the trash). For me, however, hell is not some place that God sends us as much as a state we end up choosing for ourselves. It is a ‘place’ of weeping and gnashing of teeth because those who reject God find out too late what they have done and have no one but themselves to blame for missing God’s peace and joy. The punishment of hell is not God-inflicted, but self-inflicted, coming from the regret of a wasted life and a blindness to spiritual truth that was so evident. It’s the ultimate, continuous experience of “kicking yourself” for not acting on what you should have done. It comes from realizing what is happening too late.

In many places in the Bible we are encouraged to “seize the moment.” This life is fleeting; we don’t have forever to show love and kindness, generosity and compassion. The people we are with today may not be with us tomorrow. The opportunities to rise above the world’s self-serving ways and shine like lights in the darkness will disappear with the passing of time. It’s like the Sunday offering: when the plates pass by, you only have one chance to put something in; then it’s too late. Life passes by as quickly. The chance to make amends, the chance to seek forgiveness, the chance to hug and kiss, the chance to dance, the chance to learn and grow, the chance to make a difference, the chance to go where you’ve never gone and see what you’ve never seen may only come once. Don’t wait too long. Take a good look at your life and live out all the opportunities of today. Don’t end your days looking back at life like reading an outdated newspaper, wishing you had known about all the things you could have done. Look around and live without regret now.
With affection,
Pastor Carlan