Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Fast-Forward
By Lisa Boyer

“This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalm 118:24

Many years ago, as I was looking forward to a future event in my life, I had a life-changing realization: I was always looking forward and missing the day I was living in. I looked forward to when my boyfriend would propose… then I looked forward to our wedding day… then I looked forward to buying our first home… then I looked forward to when the baby would be born… you get my point. I was, in essence, fast-forwarding though my life by anticipating the future.

While listening to the Christmas Eve service this year, I began to wonder if Jesus was ever tempted to fast-forward through His life. I simply can’t imagine how it must have been for Him to leave heaven and take on human form, or how confining that might have felt. We often talk about how short His life was, but I think 33 years just might have been more like an eternity to Him! Jesus was fully aware of who He was, why He was here and the Cross that was before Him. And although He literally could have hit the fast-forward button, He didn’t.

Jesus came into this world not only to die, but to live. And live He did!!! Jesus lived in the moment… interacting with and touching the lives of those around Him. He lived each day, each hour, and each minute to the fullest. In three short years of ministry, Jesus used those days, hours and minutes to change the world and the people in it with His love and compassion!!

Today, let’s make a plan for the future, not only for the year 2011, but for our next three years. Let’s commit to actively live each day, interacting with and touching the lives of those around us with the love and compassion of Jesus. Some days we may only touch the lives of our family members, some days our co-workers, some days our friends, some days a stranger, but multiplied by all of us, we will change our world!

GOING DEEPER:
1. To whom will you show the love and compassion of Jesus today?
2. If you have been fast-forwarding through life, will you pause and rejoice in today… the day that the Lord has made?

FURTHER READING:
Matthew 9:36-38; Luke 10:27-28

Lisa has been married to Ted for 18 years and they have two teenage sons. She is a co-leader for a Junior High girls’ small group at Oakwood Church.
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