Better late...

As usual, Andrew could not decide. He had this problem of being ambivalent, indecisive most of the time. Right from the time he awoke from the bed.

                                   “Should I get up now or shall I sleep in a further 15 minutes?”

                                   “Should I choose to wear this pale green shirt or that bright yellow one?”

                                   “What should I fix for my breakfast?”

                                   Not only such as these, the major decisions in his life also posed a severe challenge to him. So much so that he called himself, a “Choice-challenged fellow”. Not that he heard of anyone else with that condition.

                                   He would, however, at the last minute decide one thing or the other.

                                   Andrew was a yuppie. He was single and preferred to be so. Had no active sex life and was interested in fine dining and enjoying life as it comes. His motto in life was: “Let’s eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we might die.”

                                   Jonathan somehow became his friend at work. Being a committed Christian, he wanted to share the gospel with Andrew. Andrew had had Christian parents but somehow their faith had not rubbed off on him. As he went into his adolescence, he rebelled against all authority figures including Pastors and God. His anti-God philosophy made him a leper in his home. Before they sent him out, he decided somehow to fend for himself. Coming out while he was in the University, he had to struggle to make ends meet. He managed to complete his degree by taking a huge student loan.

                                   Managing to hold a couple of jobs and working overtime, Andrew finished paying off his loans and had fallen into good times. He was totally flummoxed still when he had to take decisions, major or minor. Just a happy-go-lucky young man, Andrew was blossoming into a cynic as the years passed by.

                                   Having parents who were lapsed Catholics, Jonathan had a different childhood. When he was in school, he found God at a Youth meeting and stuck to Him. His faith blossomed through a wide variety of fellowships he attended, and churches too. He had a good number of mentors who were really interested in disciplining him and he became a mentor too. When he accosted indecisive Andrew, Jonathan began to pray. He prayed sincerely for many weeks. Then, when he felt that there was an opportune time, he started gently sharing his faith with Andrew.

                                   One such time was when one of their colleagues, a young man called Phillip met with an accident. It was a head-on collision. Phillip was an ardent biker. He was riding at full speed early in the morning and did not see the truck coming in front of him. The head-on collision left Phillip a vegetable after he was through the emergency surgery. He was a pathetic sight indeed. Andrew and Jonathan went to see him and were appalled. Jonathan recovered and prayed for Phillip.

                                   They went to a café and had some coffee. Jonathan saw that Andrew was shaken. He gently touched him and said, “What is our life? We are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. It is better for us to prepare for our afterlife.”

                                   Sipping his coffee distractedly, Andrew appeared a little receptive. So, Jonathan proceeded to share his story first. How he was in his youth. “I used to sow wild oats and enjoy life to the full. There was no pleasure that I did not taste. No limits did I give to myself. The world was my stage, or so I thought and acted.”

                                   Then Jonathan told him about the way by which he encountered the Lord Jesus Christ. He explained how, by chance or by divine appointment, he went to a youth meeting and heard the gospel clearly told by a man of God. “Suddenly I saw clearly the state of myself. How I was a sinner in need of saving. The Lord Jesus Christ was the only one on earth to help me. Being a sinless man, he could save me, cleanse me through the blood he shed for all of us on the ross of Calvary. His resurrection gave him, the Son of God the power to save sinners like me, and should I say, you, Andrew!”

                                   “Now, I am different Andrew, as you might have seen. This new me is all because of the Lord Jesus Christ who has become my Saviour and my Master. Trust me, what I say is true indeed.”

                                  Andrew put his cup down. He looked straight at Jonathan and said, “Do I have to take a decision now? You know how difficult for me to make it? As I told you often, I am decision challenged.”

                                 “It is already rather late for you dear Andrew. But as they say, ‘better late than never! Repent of your sin and confess them to God. The Lord Jesus will cleanse you and you will be clean, my friend.”

                                  After they both prayed together, Andrew came to the Lord. He confessed his sins and repenting of them, asked the Lord Jesus Christ to come in and cleanse him. And He did, indeed.  Andrew was joyful. Tears flowed from his eyes as he blurted out, “Thank you, Jonathan, for being a true friend to me and sharing this gospel with me. I am so thankful that God allowed me to take this decision today. It is definitely better late than never, for me.”

                                 They embraced. Jonathan was moving to the cash desk to pay the bill for their coffee. Suddenly, both Andrew and he were transformed. Their mortal bodies were transformed into immortal ones, glorified ones. They left the café and flew up into the mid-air! Thousands of such people joined them as they went up to meet the Lord Jesus Christ. He had come down to mid-air with the blast of the trumpet by the angel. The dead people who were in the Lord were carried up first and later these fellows joined them.

                                Andrew whispered to Jonathan as they flew up, “Better late than never is true for my eternity. Thank you, Lord, thank you, dear friend!”