Now is the time.... We Have

Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." Acts 23:1

This moment in time is what we have from God, the only guarantee, the only time we know for a fact that we have. What we do in this moment in time is significant and it becomes more so when we are faced with the reality of the shortness of life.

A week ago our long time friend was told that the cancer that has shadowed him for a number of years has finally gotten the upper hand; the following day he was in the hospital dying. Tonight I’ve been to sleep for a while and now I am up because I know my friend is sitting at her husband’s bedside and any moment he may leave to be with his Lord. The blessing is to know that he is ready and has said his goodbyes to his family and his friends. No matter, it is still hard to walk this path and I choose in this moment to be awake and mindful of his precious wife’s pain as she watches him take each faint and possibly final breath. It’s quite incredible how quickly our life can change.

Make Today Count is a support group in our area who seek to help people to come to terms with life threatening illnesses, especially cancer. I have heard and read that for many people, getting cancer is almost like a new beginning in their life. They suddenly realise what a precious gift life is and how lightly they had valued it till faced with the possibility of death. It is only then that many people have begun to really live life fully and meaningfully.

Sadly I believe that many of us, even Christians, underestimate the immense value of the gift of each day and so fail to live the abundant life that Jesus died to give us. To live life with a thankful heart is to appreciate God’s gift of life. To procrastinate, to allow anxiety to rule with its iron rod, to hold an offence, bitterness or anger over something that is long past is to choose unwisely and to waste this moment.

As the apostle Paul stood before the council he was able to say that he had lived his life before God as best he knew how until this day. This day is all we have. If you look in a concordance you will be surprised how many times those two little words appear together. That is because to the God of eternity, this day is the time that counts. He is a God of the present moment. It matters to him how we choose to use the gift of this moment, this day. What do you choose to do with your gift of this moment in this day? We do not know when our sunset will arrive and it will be too late.

Prayer: Dear Father, thank you for the gift of today, for the family and friends you have given me, and for the people that my life will touch today. Help me to listen to the voice of your Holy Spirit within and make choices this day that will count for something in eternity. Amen