Have you ever caught the smell of freshly baked bread? It’s divine! But once the bread is expired, that’s it. There’s no eating it. Have you ever tried to save rotten food? You can season it up all you like, but once it’s bad, it’s bad. The taste is terrible and will probably give you an upset stomach.

It’s usually very easy to tell when food items will expire because the date is clearly printed on the package. But there are other – not so obvious – things that also have expiration dates, such as car seats, running shoes, batteries, oh… and life!

That’s right, your life, the one you only have one of, actually has an expiration date. We don’t have these dates printed on our skin, we don’t come with return receipts, and we definitely do not know the day or the hour. What we do have, however, is people falling into one of two categories:

  1. They speed like running shoes: 110 percent focused on making it big in this life. They want the lavish lifestyle and will not stop until they get it. They don’t give a second thought to life’s expiration date.
  2. They are as stationary as car seats: 110 percent broken, poor, and living miserably. They are aware of life’s expiration date and so pay no mind to the state of their current life.

Both sets of people are incomplete. They are just modern-day versions of the rich man and Lazarus.

The rich man had it all, I mean, he was deep-pocketed and lived life to the fullest. Sadly, he didn’t fear God and ended up in hell. Lazarus on the other hand, did fear God, he was saved (which is wonderful) but his life on earth was miserable. (You can read about this in the Gospel of Luke 16:19-31)

Salvation and riches; who says you can’t have them both? What’s the point in driving the best car and eating the best food but have your soul going to hell? Of course, the wealth that really matters is the salvation of your soul but you should also have the faith to fight for God’s promises. Abraham had it figured out. He was both blessed and saved.

Perhaps it’s time for you to put on your running shoes whilst sitting in the car seat and not forgetting to keep on recharging your spiritual battery!

May the God of the Bible bless you

Bishop Joshua Fonseca

NB. I repeat: As a Christian, you should never be begging crumbs from somebody else’s table. Lazarus didn’t go to heaven because of his poverty, he went because he feared God, but he didn’t have the faith to fight for the promises of God. You should aim for both: salvation and blessed life on earth.