Happy New Year!

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34)

As time marches on and we begin a new year it is good to remember that a year can only be lived one day at a time, and a day can only be lived one hour, one minute, and one second at a time. If we spend our time worrying about what will happen later today or tomorrow or next year we deplete our energy making it difficult to accomplish the task at hand. We must all make decisions about how we will spend the time on earth that God has given us to live. Will we face each day worrying about trouble that may not even occur or will we face each day confident that God will provide the resources necessary to do the work He has given us to do?

 In the beginning when God created the earth He divided the light from the darkness. God called the light day and He called the darkness night. During the day we do our work and we face life’s many challenges. We must interact with others who think and believe differently than we do in order to accomplish our work. Getting along with our adversaries while standing our own ground is always a challenge. During the night we rest from our work and we gather strength to face yet another day.

To live with confidence we must turn to the Lord and give our life as an offering each and every day. We must ask for our faith to be strengthened and seek knowledge of His will for us each day. We must trust that the Lord will prepare a way for us even when no way is readily apparent. If we spend our moments loving others time will pass quickly and joyously. A moment spent in strife and anger can seem like an eternity in hell. Yet, only God controls time and only God can save us from our enemies. How much better to live each moment in love than to wish morning was night and night was already day! How much better it is to seek the Lord both night and day!

 Even those who are on a long pilgrimage can tread time in love by seeking the Lord. Are you chained to a job that saps your pride and dignity? Seek out the Lord. Are you a young mother with small children at home facing many more years of child rearing ahead?  Seek out the Lord. Does your high school graduation seem like a very long way away? Seek out the Lord. Are you just starting college with a head full of dreams facing years of study and hard work? Seek out the Lord. Are you a young priest or nun with raging hormones yet devoted to the Lord’s service but facing a lifetime of celibacy? Seek out the Lord. Are you facing a long prison sentence? Seek out the Lord. Are you nearing retirement and wonder if you will be able to work to your full retirement age so you will have enough money to live? Seek out the Lord. Are you already retired with the realization that your life is drawing to a close? Seek out the Lord. Each of us in our own way are on a long pilgrimage. Our days on earth are numbered and they pass like a shadow. One generation passes while handing off the torch to the next generation as it comes. Each one of us can only endure our time on earth by turning to the Lord and living a life of love in the Lord’s service. God knows all time yet we know only our present moment. We can only obtain the bliss of eternity by living a life of love according to His Word.

On earth we find comfort in what is familiar. We cherish our memories about the good old days and cling to joyful moments lived in the past. Yet, if we were honest with ourselves and each other we would admit that the good old days had trouble a plenty and they  were not so grand as we like to think. When we spend time glorifying our past we only end up diminishing our present. It is in our best interest to stay focused on the present so we can experience each moment lived so life does not pass us by. On the day when the Son of Man is revealed we do not want to miss the mark because we were too busy living in the past or too busy worrying about the future. We can not know what will happen tomorrow so why should we waste our time worrying about what might happen. We must stay awake in the present moment so the Lord does not pass us by because we were too busy dreaming. We must be like the infirm man who waited by the pool in Bethesda for 38 years before the Lord arrived and healed him by telling him to rise and take up his bed and walk.

As our bodies age we must not lose heart as we continue to nourish our spiritual inner life. We must have faith that our old earthly bodies are only temporary and what is eternal is currently blocked from our view.  In the twinkling of an eye we will be renewed as we receive our glorious heavenly bodies. If we listen for the Lord today and always we will never lose heart. Even when confronted with evil we must listen for the timeless voice of the Lord. The wrath of Satan is great because Satan knows he only has a short time to get us while we are on earth. If we persevere for only a short time the Lord will claim us as His own for all time. While we remain on earth time can be short and time can be long but God’s love for us is always eternal. 

Happy New Year! In Christ As Always, Sharen