I don't think most of us think about how we spend our days. We are a routine-loving society. We can't help it. Our lives are built around schedules, to-do lists, and calendars. These things tell us when to do things, where to do them, who to do them with, and sometimes even how to do them.
Alarm goes off. Wake up.
Shower. Get dressed, etc.
Eat breakfast. Brush teeth.
Pack lunch. Go to work.
Answer emails. Meeting.
Eat lunch. Walk a bit.
Another meeting. Type proposal.
More emails. Organize files.
Another meeting.
Water cooler. [Right on time for the best gossip of the day.]
Prepare PowerPoint for tomorrow. Pack up.
Pick up kids. Snack time.
Drop kids off at soccer practice. Grocery shopping.
Laundry. Pick kids up again.
Fix dinner. Welcome home spouse.
Eat dinner. PTA meeting.
Help with homework. Watch some television.
Read. Get ready for bed.
Set alarm. Sleep.
Repeat.
Now, you can do this day-after-day, and do so happily, with cheer. You love your job, your family, and have no problem living each day the same as the day before. However, you do feel that something is amiss. You try to figure it out, but can't seem to place your finger on it. You don't think about it for awhile, but one evening you pray before going to bed - "Just because." Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where did that even come from? You brush it aside, but the next night, you say a few more words to... Whoever. But "getting spiritual" throws things off balance. It's different. And what's it for? Regardless, you decide it's not so bad. You even pick up a Bible and start reading a little. Again, "Just because. Why not?" However, when you start thinking about church, you decide you don't want to push it. Yet you enjoy what you read. And you don't think that those words at night are just thrown out there into nothingness. So you start going to church. And what do you know? You like it. Meet some nice people. Hear some good music. Guy up front seems to know what's he's doing. Alright, sure. You decide to stick around. Unfortunately, your life seems to be even more off balance now. You're not used to all this new "stuff". Wait, you've even gotten sucked into a church committee? That's a pretty big step... Next thing you know, you've got one more meeting to attend bimonthly. If you felt a little dizzy before, you're now positive that the room is spinning around you constantly. But you still like it. Even your kids are getting into it! Youth group, kid's choir... Sunday school?! The scales are tipping even farther. You're feeling different. There seems to be more to life, although each day seems shorter than before. Weird. Your prayers become more fervent, and you start to dig into the Bible deeply. Then one day, it clicks. You get it. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. There He is, with open arms. With each passing day, you grow closer to God, having realized it's not about to-do lists or church committees or listening to a choir sing on Sunday morning. He becomes your God, even though you have always been His child. And suddenly, your life feels balanced again. Zealous and joyful, you finally begin to live your life for Him, day by day. You strive to love Him and love others to the best of your ability, day by day. You live freely - but with purpose - day by day. You live, obedient and watchful, day by day.
Annie Dillard [an author] once said, "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." True? Well. If we're spending our days the way we want to spend our lives, then I think we're going to more readily say it is true. But if we're not, then it's going to be more difficult to say that it's true. Unfortunately, just because we're not willing to say it's true doesn't mean that it's not.
I believe that a relationship with God is an everyday ordeal. It shouldn't be an every other day relationship. We can't want to be close to Him one day, then turn our backs on Him the next. Sure, we do exactly that sometimes, but we shouldn't. If we're not consistently working at it each day, it becomes easy to fall away. It becomes easy to believe that we can do this thing called life on our own. It becomes easy to look after ourselves and only ourselves. Above all else, we need God. And we need to do what He commands of us. We need to be thinking about the return of Christ. We need to get out there and love people and help them know our Savior. But if we don't realize these things now, each day, how much more difficult will it be to do so in a year? Five years? Ten years? And how much more difficult will it be to actually do something about it?
So I challenge you to constantly be thinking about the moments that are ahead of you. You don't have to think about tomorrow. Just today. What are you going to do today? Sit back and think that 'someone else' will do 'it' - whatever 'it' may be? Or are you going to be proactive and do what needs to be done, letting God use you in ways that He sees fit?
Be willing.
Be ready.
' "If you love me, you will obey what I command." '
[John 14:15]
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