I once again
have been taken aback by the circumstances of life and how fast things can
change, putting even the perfect of schedules into a tailspin. Last week was a
doosey! Sunday began with the death of a congregation member and pending
funeral. Monday I couldn’t get yard work done, too much rain. Tuesday came with
a double whammy. I was notified of another member passing away the night before
and needing to prepare for another funeral latter in the week. I also traveled
to Houston
[Matthew
6:25-34] I think a person’s life can be divided up into four chunks of time:
the past, the present, the future and eternity. The devil draws attention to
the past and the future; God draws attention to the present and eternity. Therefore,
the devil wants to take our focus off of the present and eternity while God
wants us to avoid investing too heavily in the past and the future. For
example, when a person is thinking about becoming a Christian, the devil
attacks that thinking in at least two places. First, the past: “I have done too
many bad things that God could never forgive me of,” and second, the future:
“Even if He could forgive me, once I was baptized, I could never live up to the
high standard of the Christian life.” God, on the other hand, reinforces
truthful thinking in the above scenario by coaching a person to do NOW what
will secure him or her for ETERNITY. In the process, of course, God does remedy
the guilt of sin (PAST) and also gears the new convert up by prayer, worship,
Scripture, fellowship, hope, etc. to be faithful in living out the Christian
life (FUTURE). The plea to live in the present saturates Scripture: for
example; Matthew 6:34 ‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” 2 Corinthians
6:1-2 “As God’s fellow workers (Paul and Timothy) we urge you not to receive
God’s grace in vain. For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in
the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor,
now is the day of salvation.” 2 Peter 3:11-12 “Since everything will be
destroyed in this way (v7&10) what kind of people ought you be? You ought
to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its
coming...” That does not mean we have no business with the past. There may be a
mess to clean up. And it does not mean we have no business with the future,
because we must plan: James 4:13-16 says, “Is any one of you in trouble? He
should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you
sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him
with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the
sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be
forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other so that you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” It does mean that we
should not waste life fantasizing, “I wish I could go back to yesterday,” or “I
am waiting for things to be different tomorrow.” Rather, live in the moment. Do
what you are supposed to be doing today. Obey God now. Take responsibility for
the present. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others,
faithfully administrating God’s grace in its various forms” (2 Peter 4:10).
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