The love of God means today is for really living
Readings: Lamentations 3:22-26, Psalm 118
‘Just a tiny little minute, only sixty seconds in it’
But, it’s the minutes that make up the hours. The hours turn into days and the days become weeks. The weeks make up the months on our calendars. The months mark the seasons, and so the year rolls round. The years blur as major life events, birthdays and anniversaries make landmarks in our lifetime.
In these ‘wiping years’ when we’re wiping little bottoms, noses, faces and messes, it’s easy to let the day go by in a blur of seemingly mundane tasks!
We aren’t able to see beyond the messy room, the endless dirty dishes and laundry. And we feel like we’re going to scream if we hear “Mommee!” one more time!
Sometimes, we merely exist, rather than truly living life as God intended it to be. It’s easy to miss the point. It’s easy to miss the wonder of these years when our children are growing, discovering and absorbing so much.
But, no matter what, the Bible says: ‘This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it’(Psalm 118:24-NIV)
‘Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.’
(Psalm 90:12- NLT)
On 1st September 2001, I took my 6-month-old baby daughter for a walk along Ballywalter Beach. It was a bright, sunny day. The tide was out and the water sparkled. It was the first day of the new school term. A woman stopped me to say, “Make the most of it! My baby has just started school!”
And now, 19 years later, I wonder where the years in between have gone. Caris is now at university and that walk along the beach is just a distant memory- though we’ve walked that beach together many, many times since. I’m just glad that I chose to go for a walk that day and didn’t just get bogged down with the housework!
A Scandinavian proverb says: ‘This day is a gift from God. What you do with it is your gift to Him’
Some one put it like this:
‘Yesterday is history,
Tomorrow is a mystery,
Today is a gift,
That’s why it’s called the Present!’
Every new day is a fresh opportunity to experience God’s love and mercy.
‘The unfailing love of the Lord never ends!
Great is His faithfulness;
His mercies begin afresh each day’
(Lamentations 3:22&23 –NLT)
‘God has called us out of ho-hum mundane living to experience the abundant life’
Jesus said:
“My purpose is to give life in all its fullness” (John 10:10 – NLT)
“I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of”
(John 10: 10 –The Message)
I was very challenged by something that Gloria Gaither said in an interview that was published by In Touch magazine in March 2001: “When your children are saying “Mommy, mommy” and you’ve got other things to do, I think you have to ask “Is there any eternity in it?” and give yourself away for things that last forever. A child is more eternal than a clean house…A calling builds itself into a calling out of a lot of days of regular stuff. There is eternity in every moment”
Wow! Think about it-there is eternity in every moment, when we see those tiny little minutes from God’s perspective! ‘Everyday we stand on chords that vibrate throughout eternity’ (Charles Finney)
We have got to ‘Make the most of every opportunity’ (Colossians 4:6-NIV)
What we think is an interruption may be a divine appointment. Don’t let opportunities pass you by because you think you know how your day should unfold! Listen to those inner promptings, and gentle nudges that come from the Holy Spirit. And remember, a coincidence is when God acts and decides to remain anonymous!
God wants our tiny little minutes, our days and our 24-7 lives to be given to Him.
‘Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life-and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him’
(Romans 12:1-The Message)
I probably don’t need to remind you that just 10 days after that carefree walk on the beach, the unthinkable happened.11th September 2001. 9-11 is a date etched on our minds forever- the day that shook the world.
And many more terrorist attacks, natural disasters & unexpected events have happened since. Just now, our planet has paused- reeling with the effects of coronavirus.
We truly don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Tomorrow is guaranteed to no one. Tomorrow might never come.
I truly believe that God wants us to seize the day- Carpe Diem! What a difference it would make if we viewed our limited, precious time from God’s perspective.
‘Celebrate God all day, everyday’ (Philippians 4:4-The Message)
‘And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him’ (Colossians 3:17 – NIV)
‘What you have done and created and loved in the Name of Jesus is all that will last’ (Angela Thomas)
We have this moment
‘Hold tight to the sound of the music of living,
Happy songs from the laughter of children at play;
Hold my hand as we run through
the sweet fragrant meadows,
Making mem’ries of what was today.
Tiny voice that I hear is my little girl calling
For daddy to hear just what she has to say;
And my little son running there by the hillside
May never be quite like today.
Tender words, gentle touch, and a good cup of coffee, And someone that loves me and wants me to stay;
Hold them near while they’re here, and don’t wait for tomorrow
To look back and wish for today.
Take the blue of the sky and the green of the forest
And the gold and the brown of the freshly mown hay,
Add the pale shades of spring and the circus of autumn,
And weave you a lovely today.
For we have this moment to hold in our hands
And to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand;
Yesterday’s gone, and tomorrow may never come,
But we have this moment-today!
(Gloria Gaither-quoted with permission)
‘Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.’
(Matthew 6:34 MSG)
Blessings,
Ruthx
*Edited & updated from my book ‘Its all about love’ 2007
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