A LIFETIME TO BE LIVED FOR YOU.
– It Can Be Done –
Two young men started an unusual hike from California to New York via the seashore.
Both hikers, in their early twenties, planned to follow the coastline of California from Los Angeles to the border of Mexico, then down the Peninsula of Lower California, and the west coast of Mexico and Guatemala to the Panama Canal.
After crossing the Canal Zone, their long detour would continue up the shore of the Caribbean to the Gulf of Mexico and the tip of Florida. The final leg of their journey should bring them up the eastern shore of the United States.
Why such a unique, arduous trek that will take eighteen months to complete? The young men simply replied: “To prove it can be done.”
Once persons make up their minds to conquer an earthly goal, they will go to great lengths to achieve it. They can do the same for eternal goals. But they must first set their sights on heaven, and stir within themselves the determination and perseverance needed.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
Colossians 3:2
INSTILL IN ME, O LORD, THE TENACITY
TO WIN THE CROWN OF LIFE.
– No Time to Lose –
The ship’s chief engineer, coming down the companionway into the engine room, shouted: “How long have you been working in this compartment?”
The fireman, recently assigned to the crew, answered honestly: “Ever since I saw you coming down the ladder.”
There is a constant temptation for all of us to “take it easy” until an emergency arises.
Often we tend to excuse our own spiritual idleness, putting off action to some future time which we imagine will be more opportune.
We are naturally inclined to believe that a kind of routine goodness is enough, and we postpone any really energetic spiritual activity. In actuality every day is the right day for spiritual labor — is the proper time for directing our moral energies toward our eternal goal. Indeed, there is no time to lose!
Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold,now is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 6:2
LORD CHRIST, GRANT THAT I MAY ALWAYS BE ALERT
TO SERVING YOU AND DOING GOOD TO OTHERS.
– Preparing for Eternity –
Always popular are the following words, which are attributed to Stephen Grellet, French-born Quaker who died in New Jersey in 1855. For all of us Grellet’s simple yet charged remarks can be a source of inspiration:
I shall pass through this world but once.
Any good thing I can do, or any kindness
that I can show any human being, let me
do it now and not defer it. For I shall not
pass this way again.
How true these words are! And since we have but one brief “testing period” here in which to prepare for eternity, it behooves us not to waste or misuse it. The chance, once gone, will never be offered to us again.
Do not love the world or the things of theworld. If anyone loves the world, the love ofthe Father is not in him…. Yet the world andits enticement are passing away. But whoeverdoes the will of God remains forever.
1 John 2:15, 17
LORD, TEACH ME TO BE IN THE WORLD, NOT OF THE WORLD, AND
TEACH ME TO DO GOOD, THUS STORING UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN.
– Aim to Do Good –
It’s easy to slip into a passive or negative way of living. But those who smugly boast, “I’ve never done any harm to anyone,” and think that’s the peak of achievement really miss the big reason for living.
Nowhere in the Gospels does Our Lord advise us to take it easy.
Jesus repeatedly stresses that we should use our talent and not bury it by leading lives that are nothing better than harmless.
He emphasizes that our very salvation depends upon the positive good we do for others with the gifts He has entrusted to us.
Do good, He commands. Avoiding evil is not enough. Love your neighbor, He insists. That means far more than just tolerating or refraining from hurting others.
“Just so, your light must shine before others,that they may see your good deeds and glorifyyour heavenly Father.”
Matthew 5:16
DEEPEN IN ME, O LORD, A YEARNING TO FILL MY LIFE WITH GOOD
DEEDS, NOT MERELY TO AVOID HARM.
– The Wrong Way –
A tired passenger at the Los Angeles airport recently boarded what he thought was a Chicago-bound plane.
Dozing off immediately, he woke up several hours later and glanced out of the plane window. Instead of seeing the Rocky Mountains, he gaped in astonishment at the wide blue Pacific. The stewardess told him the plane was flying to Honolulu!
To make matters worse he couldn’t even enjoy a day’s stay in Hawaii because urgent business demanded his presence in Chicago. Two hours after landing in Honolulu, he was on a plane heading back for the mainland and Chicago.
Slight mistakes in these fast-moving times can cause havoc in more ways than one. The consequences of even the smallest oversight involving your soul may be far more serious than taking the wrong plane or train.
Check and double-check to make sure that your sense of purpose and direction is toward God, not away from Him, and you will save yourself much grief.
Steady my feet in accord with your promise;do not let iniquity lead me.
Psalm 119:133
PROTECT ME FROM MY OWN CARELESSNESS, O LORD.
– Taking Initiative –
The word “pawn” is defined in Webster’s dictionary as “the chessman of least value … also, figuratively, an insignificant factor,” as “a pawn in the political game.”
Even if you are not a chess player, you probably have heard people refer to themselves as helpless pawns which don’t count and can be pushed around without having anything to say about it.
But too often this is the fault of the individuals themselves. They lead completely passive lives, willing to be nudged here and there by the opinions and pressures of others. Because they are so negative, they often leave the way open for others to take advantage of them.
God made none of us pawns. Each one has a job and a responsibility toward helping the big world. God didn’t create us to sit on the sidelines and wait for someone else to move us along. He wishes each of us to show initiative and daring — to make our influence for good felt in the mainstream of life. If we do, we’ll be anything but pawns. We’ll keep our individuality, and by the grace of God, we shall leave the world better than we found it.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on amountain cannot be hidden.”
Matthew 5:14
LET ME DARE TO TAKE INITIATIVE FOR YOUR SAKE, O LORD.
– Working with God –
“God gives the nuts, but He does not crack them,” runs an old German proverb.
In short, the Lord wishes each of us to work with Him in solving problems, small and large.
By accepting this responsibility,