Not Too Late

The Bible gives this exhortation in Hebrews chapter 3, which can challenge us to respond to the Lord and not put off either accepting Him as Savior or obeying Him in what He directs us to do...we can read:
12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;
13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,
15 while it is said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."

Verse 13, in my estimation, challenges us not to do tomorrow what we should be doing today.  Procrastination can result in our missing out on what God wants to do in our lives. That is especially important regarding the decision to follow Christ - since life is a vapor, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow, according to the book of James, that is a decision that should be postponed, for eternity is riding on it. 

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2 Corinthians 6 underscores the importance of recognizing that the decision to follow Christ is not one that should be put off. We can read these words at the beginning of the chapter:
1 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
2 For He says: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

A person with whom the gospel has been shared and with whom the Holy Spirit is dealing to come into a saving knowledge of God should never procrastinate - the Bible says that now is the day of salvation. 

But, if that has occurred, we can still be reminded that it's never too late to accept Christ as Lord and Savior.  And, an article from the God Reports website that was published at Baptist Press actually contains a story of someone who, after years of rejecting the Savior, gave his life to Christ - at age 93.

Erdie Carter, the pastor of Glasgow Baptist Church in Kentucky tells the story of his church member, Evelyn Oliver, and her dedication to pray for her husband, Bernice.   The pastor shared that the Olivers had been married for 67 years.  She was diligent to pray for her husband to receive Christ. 

The pandemic happened, and the Olivers watched services of the church on television.  The article relates:

Carter said Evelyn told him that her husband had begun faithfully watching the church’s Sunday services with her.

After a few weeks, members of the church visited their home to bring food as part of the church’s community outreach program. While at the home, Bernice said he was ready to make a decision for Christ.

After walking him through this decision, the church members followed up by asking if he would like to be baptized. He said he would.

Carter said Glasgow also observed the Lord’s Supper the day that Bernice was baptized, adding that seeing the transformation in Bernice deeply affected him and his congregation.

Bernice was 93 years old at the time of his baptism. The pastor said, “Pastors often talk about that it’s never too late … but to actually see this man at 93 come to this spiritual realization and then want to publicly profess his faith in Christ, it was joy,” adding, “It overwhelmed me with emotions. It renewed the strength of my church members’ prayers for their own lost loved ones.”

Ena Campbell-Reid was 92 when she made the decision to be baptized at her church in Florida, Grace Fellowship: A Church for All Nations.  The lead pastor, Jeff Robinson, stated:

“We routinely remind our church family that in spite of the suffering and brokenness we see around us, in the news, and on social media, to never forget that God is still very much at work in the world,” Robinson said.

“Ms. Ena’s following Jesus in public believer’s baptism by immersion is both an encouragement and a powerful motivation for our entire faith family.”

We recognize that it's never too late to give your life to Jesus Christ.  We can also ask, "why wait?"

Bernice Oliver had never made a profession of faith until he was 93; the pastor of the church his wife attended said he "had never seen a responsiveness from him."  But, God was at work.  Ena Campbell-Reid had apparently made a commitment to a church growing up, but had never followed that step of obedience to be baptized in water.

For these two individuals - and for anyone else that desires to receive Christ - it is not too late.  And, the enemy will attempt to keep people out of the Kingdom by using their past sins against them. There is no sin that is too great for Christ to forgive.  Now, He does talk about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, but I've heard it taught that if someone is concerned about that one, then that person has not committed it.  Truth is: we can be forgiven, and I would think that people miss out on the Kingdom life because they cannot comprehend how a loving God could actually forgive them.

And, we can also say that water baptism is a witness, an outward testimony of the inward work of the Holy Spirit.  It demonstrates and affirms what God has done.  We can celebrate the new life that Christ has worked in our hearts and respond to His call to obedience - regardless of our age or even other barriers that keep us from experiencing what God wants to do in our lives.