A good friend of mine shared a story with me that has stuck with me ever since. He lived many years under the influence of alcohol, and indicated that even as a non-believer, he had a conversation with God every day. It was a simple conversation, but a profound one nonetheless. It went like this: each day, God would quietly ask him in the depths of his heart “Today, John?” To which he would reply solemnly, “No God, not today…” This conversation continued for years as this man’s life self-destructed around him. God, ever faithful, kept asking the question, and he kept answering in the same manner until the one day when God took him down to rock bottom and asked the question “Today, John?” And John answered “Yes, God, today.”
Twenty seven years of sobriety later, my friend looks back on that time and reflects on two thoughts. The first is what a waste of precious life that yielded nothing but heartache, pain, despair, and damage to him and those around him that he loved. He drank fully of the deceptions the world offered up to him and received nothing of value in return. The second thought is how thankful he is that God kept asking him the question. At any time, God might have said “Fine, I will no longer ask – you are on your own.”
As I reflect on what I’m going to tell my accountability partners on our next call a week from now, my friend’s two thoughts hit home for me. I have committed to certain things and have routinely reported to my partners that I have not done them. Those tasked with keeping me accountable before God are faithful and gracious so they keep asking. I always have a good reason for my failure, but in the back of my mind, I can’t help but hear the Sprit say to me “Today, Ron?”
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