Diligent Maintenance
“Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.”
It’s a well-worn adage and useful at some level. We have probably all said it and had
decisions guided by it at one time or another. But is that the best principle to follow?
Could we improve on it?
“Diligently maintain it so that it doesn’t break.”
Whether it is a physical object that we rely on daily or our spiritual well-being, breaking
can be disastrous. Often, when something mechanical breaks, we have to really
scramble to fix it because it is needed right now. We may suffer loss in comfort, income
or time, but it will hopefully be a temporary setback.
Our spiritual well-being, however, is of far greater consequence when it comes to a
breakdown. An untimely breakdown could cost our eternal life. We know, that at Christ’s
return, many will want to be let in to the marriage with the Bridegroom but will be denied
– not being recognizable to Christ.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to
awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The
night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness,
and let us put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:11–12). Time and light are of the
essence in terms of our spiritual maintenance. This has been the message to believers
since 31 A.D. Whether we are alive at Christ’s return or not is irrelevant. Our spiritual
well-being at the time of our death is what Christ will judge us on.
Christ’s return will come as a thief in the night – unexpectedly — but we should not be
caught unprepared. “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should
overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the
night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be
sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:4–6). We must utilize our time in the light of God’s truth about
our own spiritual condition, watching and therefore seeing what God would have us see.
Once seen and understood, we can diligently maintain our course to avoid spiritual
breakdown.
Marshall Stiver