October 19, 2009

• Thinking out loud

  Today’s e-devotional reminds me of the pledge I made to myself recently:

  I have been given the gift of this new day, fresh with the possibility of discovery, industry and joy. I pledge to do everything I can to use it and benefit from it, sharing those benefits with all I encounter today…

  Time Enough

  Suggested Bible Reading

  “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you–you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

  -Matthew 6:25-34 (NRSV)

  MODERN technology allows us to both speed up time and slow it down. In a television-makeover program, a garden or home is transformed in minutes. But in real life beautiful gardens take years of hard work, and redecorating is not as easy as it looks on TV. On the other hand, modern technology can also slow down time, as we see in the endless slow-motion replays of decisive moments in sporting events. The past is gone; the future comes at its own pace. In reality, we cannot rewind or speed up our life.

  We may look back with regret, anger, and resentment at all our dashed hopes, at all our “if onlys.” Or at times we may consider the future bleak and want to rush past it. But we cannot alter time. What we have is God’s gift of today and the freedom to choose how to live it.

  The apostle Paul gave us an example when he wrote, “Forgetting what is behind … I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14, NIV). Like Paul, we can take each day’s opportunities to use the gifts that God has given us.

  Anne Rasmussen (Somerset, England)

  Prayer

  O God, help us choose to use our time wisely, always grateful for all your gifts. Amen.

  Thought for the Day

  Worrying about the past or the future keeps us from taking joy in the present.

  Prayer Focus

  Those who worry

  • 12:09 pm
  • 12 Comments