Weather report from heaven: Sunny and bright with an abundance of light, and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Scripture- “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.”- 2 Thessalonians 1:3
Insight: I was thinking recently about how much the world has changed in the past two years, and how the pace of change is increasing rapidly. It is rather staggering to consider all the ways our lives have been impacted by a global pandemic, sky high inflation and elevated energy prices, a broken political construct where elected officials rarely represent the people who elected them but rather themselves and a non-stop ratings driven and divisive news media that looks at every event or decision by entities like the Supreme Court as life or death, or a chance to further divide people with a Jerry Springer like badgering of the truth to easily fit their false narrative. In this environment, it is easy to feel like you have lost your bearings, and are adrift on the open seas of life if you don’t have a firm foundation to lean on. Our Christian Faith provides that firm foundation in Christ Jesus, who is the solid rock upon which we stand.
But even with that, we need perspective in order to figure out the best path to navigate our way through these unchartered waters. As I mentioned yesterday, during such times, I find it very helpful to find perspective from as many past experiences as possible. Not just from my past experiences, but much more so from those who have lived in perilous times in history and made a big impact. One of the ways I like to do this is to read quotes from people I admire. It is amazing how many times an old quote can provide great perspective for a current time in history. One of my current favorites is the English Writer C.S. Lewis who wrote some of the best Christian Literature of all time, including The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity. But his quotes are just exploding off the page in significance for today as I read them.
Today’s quote is “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” This quote helps us understand the preciousness of time, but also the necessity of focus. We can waste a lot of energy and emotional bandwidth thinking about past mistakes, or things that are in the rear view mirror. On the other hand, we can put ourselves in a mental sea clamp of fear by being riddled with anxiety about the future. In fact, the enemy loves to keep us regretful or frustrated about our past and also anxious about the future. He knows that can make it hard to concentrate on prayer and doing what needs to be done for God’s Kingdom in the present. As C.S. Lewis puts it in his powerful quote above, we need to get busy with the work we need to do today. It is never too late to begin again, to change course, to start a new life path. We can’t go back in time, but we can be introspective enough to take time to learn from the past and to gain new perspectives about our place in the world and what we can do differently going forward. This is called growing and we should never stop trying to create better endings for our life. Our impact can still be manifested in the days ahead.
In the Chrisitian Faith, this practically means that as we continue to grow in our faith, which is a lifelong process, our love for one another should also grow. We should always look for new and better ways to love those that God puts in our path. Certainly, all of the drastic change mentioned above has created huge opportunities to grow in our faith, and love one another in new and necessary ways, as fear is prevalent and real all over the globe today. Let us never stop learning new ways to grow in our intimacy and love for God and each other. That will produce the best ending of all in due time.
Prayer: Father God, these times are very tough and so we rely on your word and your truth to find our strength and comfort. Help us to continue to grow in our faith and our love for one another. Help us to not be regretful about the past, but to be busy with the work of today, creating a better ending for ourselves and those around us. In Jesus’ mighty name we pray. Amen!
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