[Vaynan]

As I was driving a couple of days ago to the church, I was taking a different path than I usually do--one that comes in from the highway at the far end of town--and I crested a hill and noticed something, from the other side of town, at least four or so miles down, past several turns, I could see the church--my destination--quite clearly. Then, as quickly as it was there, it was gone. I had a few minutes to think on this, as I drove the rest of the way to the church, and the message just formed itself in my mind.

So often in our lives we fall into what I like to call, "running through the motions"; we go to church on Sundays and sometimes Wednesdays, we get up for work or school every morning, and drag through the hours until we go home again, where we often just veg out in front of the TV until we go to sleep, only to repeat it all again the next day. Our lives become routine, and we focus on the here and now, whether it is our day, our week, or our year. We focus on the end of the day, the end of the week, our next big raise or promotion, or our retirement. We are so concerned with the here and now, that we forget what is in store in the long run.

Human beings are focused on the here and now. Think about what I am saying. Right now, what are you looking forward to? I am posting this on a Friday night. Are you looking forward to a movie or a date, maybe a party? Maybe you are looking forward to Monday. Let me go a little further. How about Thanksgiving? Maybe Christmas? For the working people, what about the vacation you are working hard to obtain? I myself am personally looking forward to starting my path into the ministry, but even that is the here and now.

How often do you sit down and think about what is in store in the long run? We only have a hundred years to live, a very short time, and when you reach the gates of Heaven, what will that promotion amount to? What will all those days spent looking forward to a short term goal, a party, a date, anything, amount to? What will it all be worth when you are standing before His glory? What about all the money you worked so hard to earn in your lifetime? Where will your material riches be, but dead, with your body on earth?

We must remember, that in the scheme of things, we are not alive for long, and though these things that we look forward to our nice, they aren't what it's all about. Our lives are so short, far too so that we should be so concerned with what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. If we are to focus on anything, it should be His kingdom, His glory, His love.

When someone says what are you looking forward to down the road, what will you tell them?

Will you have spent your whole life looking forward to moments that are gone as quickly as they came?

Will you spend your whole life looking forward to tomorrow? Soon, tomorrow will be yesterday, and the here and now will be the dead and gone.

When you get to Heaven, what will you have to show for your life, but a myriad of moments that meant nothing; nothing compared to His glory, and His love?


This is where I am going to hop off my soap box for now.