October 26, 2021 – Reflection on “Living Today for Tomorrow!”
What is living? The ‘good life’ has many meanings that change as we grow older. Each person’s choice of a ‘good life’ tells more about what they believe in the depths of their heart.
As I read this scripture, I see what living means to me. I believe I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:13-14.
Then, in Colossians, I find the essence of Life with Him, not for the short time we draw breath on earth but how it leads to Life Eternal. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
Compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all, these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.Colossians 3:12-14.
The bottom line of life is this: No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. I John 4:12. Loving one another is not complete unless we bear with them and learn to forgive.
Nehemiah also gives us the way to live, by remembering we are chosen by God, and He is part of our identity. When we choose friends, we choose them wisely. The song we used to sing as children is, “Oh, be careful little eyes, what you see; be careful little ears; be careful little tongue what you say, For the Father up above is looking down in love. “
Then this song adds hands what you do, feet where you go, heart whom you trust, and little mind what you think. When we belong to God, He wants all of us. Since He created us and chose us before we were, He has that priority over us.
Today’s culture says we are to be independent and make our own decisions. God gives us gifts constantly. When we realize how God is the One who has the answers, and we open our hearts to Him to know Him fully. We realize how awesome Our Lord God is and how He loves us. One of my favorite verses is this: He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live. Ecclesiastes 3:11-12.
He spent time with us before we were born. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! Ecclesiastes 3:16-17.
When I see the stars at night, I remember God knows my name and my story, even before I am born. He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names. Psalm 147:4. Names are important to God, even yours.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! Psalm 139:16-17.
It is easy to let living life have its own rhythm, but when our goal is loving others, things change. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 13-14.
When God provides unexpected wonders, we stop and understand that we live with an expectant love wanting to know more about our Lord.
The first time I read the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, and knew these attributes are the harvest of living closer to God, I wanted to know more. It became a time to press on. I wanted these to be the way I live!
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:22-24. The verses just before these verses list the works of the world. Verse 21 ends – Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Sin nailed Jesus to the tree. Sin began in the Garden of Eden when Eve wanted to have the knowledge of God. It cost her home in the Garden. When we want to control things like God does, we soon begin the slide downward. There is no new sin. Cain killed Abel. Joseph’s brothers picked on him. Peter denied Christ, and nothing is too big, that God will not forgive when we choose to follow Him.
Christian love means treating other people the same way God treats us. Our gifts come from God are truly free to us as we serve others. Giving our love and ourselves to others pleases God. Loving others makes our lives sweeter. And we will be singing… Sweeter as the years go by, Richer, fuller, deeper, Jesus’ love is sweeter, Sweeter as the years go by.
Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant. Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight. Psalm 119:76:77.
O, God for every age, bend down your ear; Let congregations follow our command, To spread the joy of Jesus, far and near.
And as we journey, give us your strength to stand, O God for every age, to You we sing, Our Father, Son, and Spirit, be our King… (From God for Every Age by Anna Daisy Siemens.)