Today
Dale Carnegie once wrote, "One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon -- instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today.
I have observed this to be very true as well. Most of us are just trying to get through today, this week or this month, hoping that one day we might be able to experience the elusive happiness that is somewhere over the next hill. Or we spend our youth looking forward to getting out of school, so we can go to work, and then we spend our careers looking forward to retirement so we can stop working. And then we are retired--and too tired--to do much after that. And we all know what the next step is after retirement.
But what about today? What does God have in store for us today that we are not noticing because we are always looking forward to something else? What are we missing in this life while we "put off living?"
The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6 that "Today is the day of salvation." And though we often use that verse evangelistically to call people to receive Jesus and be saved, those words were not addressed to the lost. Paul was writing to fellow believers, reminding them of their mission, of the price Jesus had paid for their sins, of the new life that was theirs in Christ.
And he urged them not to wait a moment longer to begin living life to the fullest. "Be reconciled to God," he said to his fellow workers. "Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." The same can be said to you and me.
Actually, the Biblical concept of salvation is multi-faceted. It speaks of a day in the past when we got saved, and ultimately a day in the future when we will be saved. But there is also the part in the middle--when we live our lives here on earth--when we experience the blessings of what salvation means in real time, in real life. When, as Paul wrote in Philippians 2:12, we "work out our salvation with fear and trembling."
Hebrews 3:13 tells us to "encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." So, that's my purpose...today.
Stop waiting for another day to come, for everything to fall into place sometime down the road. Live your life to the fullest today. Don't miss the roses that are blooming outside your window. Today is the day of God's favor. Today is the day that God's wants to bless you. Today is the day that God wants to use you.
I am grateful for each of you, and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.
--Pastor Ken
