It’s Never Too Late

A friend asked me something a while ago, and as part of my response the chorus from an old Steppenwolf album surfaced from somewhere.

Written by John Kay and Nick St. Nicholas, here are the lyrics in their entirety —

Your eyes are moist, you scream and shout
As though you were a man possessed
From deep inside comes rushing forth
All the anguish you suppressed

Up on your wall hangs your degree
Your parents craved so much for you
And though you’re trained to make your mark
You still don’t quite know what to do

Chorus: It’s never too late to start all over again
To love the people you caused the pain
And help them learn your name
Oh, no, not too late, it’s never too late to start all over again

Well, it’s much too late to start again
To try and find a little bliss
So on your woman and your child
You release your bitterness

You drift apart some more each day
You feel the guilt and loneliness
And the God of your childhood you can’t find
To save you from your emptiness

You say you’ve only got one life to live
And when you’re dead you’re gone
Your family comes to your grave
And with tears in their eyes
They tell you, you did something wrong, you left us alone

Tell me who’s to say after all is done
And you’re finally gone you won’t be back again
You can find a way to change today
You don’t have to wait till then

— And in the words of our old friend St. Paul,

If anyone is in Christ,

they are a new creature;

old things pass away

because new things are here.

(2nd Corinthians 5:17)

You have today.

Make it count.

By the grace of God and your best effort, make it count for what’s important.