So, many of us have heard of the saying, "Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery and Today is a gift, that's why it's called the PRESENT."
See, I'm a visual learner and that applies to learning Scripture for me too. For me, I have to be able to relate it to my life, in order for it to make sense. Well, this quote has always encouraged me because it has taught me to live in the MOMENT, to live for TODAY and not to WORRY about the future. Matthew 6:34 also speaks to us about worry: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Isn't that the truth? Easier said than done sometimes. I'm a work in progress, that's for sure.
Well, I was reminded about this again the other day after a great sermon I heard at my Church. You can listen to the sermon here. The Title of the sermon was "Presence vs. Presents". The main "take home" point of the message was this:
"God is more concerned with who we are BECOMING than where we are GOING."
I started thinking about how these are both very interestingly enough, related.
The first quote talks about TODAY being a GIFT and well, what do we do with a gifts/presents? We open them with anticipation. We treasure them. We enjoy them in that moment. We're thankful to whomever gave them to us. We take our time opening them, and don't run off and do something else right away. (Ok, so maybe when we were kids we would open it, say "Oooh, cool!" and then throw it aside and open up the next one or go play with our friends, forgetting to say thank you!) Forgive me, but I think there is a neat God moment here. Most of us are probably also familiar with the phrase, "stop & smell the roses". I think of God saying this to us, with each new day.. "Please, STOP. Enjoy what I'm giving you, TODAY. Life. Friends. Family. Beautiful skies. Love. Even the butterfly that just landed on your hand. Don't worry about what tomorrow brings or what the future holds. Just enjoy today, as a gift from Me. I have so much to give you, to show you, to teach you." And, we know that- tomorrow is not promised to us.
The second quote is basically saying, God is not concerned with what is going to happen tomorrow, so why should we? He is more concerned with what we are learning today, in the process. Because, it is in the process that we are becoming more Christ-like, more like Him...and, isn't it true, we are created in HIS image?! Hmm. I think He's also saying, he's not so much concerned with how successful we are...He's more concerned with WHO we are becoming as we go through life. Again, if we were created in His image, and he knew who we were to become before our existence...doesn't it make sense that he would be more concerned if we were becoming who He created us to be??
Ok...here's an example. Let's say you are an artist (or not one, like me) and you have a picture in mind that you would like to draw. But, as you begin drawing you suddenly realize it's not looking at all like what you pictured in your mind. You begin to get frustrated or disappointed because it's not at all what you wanted to CREATE! Oh boy, what are others going to think about this? Do you see the connection here? Scripture refers to humans (you & me) as the clay and Jesus is the Potter. He is FORMING us into His image. Or, that we are His masterpiece. Here is a definition of masterpiece:
mas·ter·piece/ˈmastərˌpēs/Noun
1. A work of outstanding artistry, skill, or workmanship.
2. An artist's or craftsman's best piece of work.
God desires us to become His masterpiece, His perfect creation, His children....in His timing. So, even if it takes some of us longer to get there, this just means that He has more perfecting, more crafting to do in us and through us. The catch...we have to LET Him.
So, this sermon convicted and challenged me, especially with where I'm at in my life. It challenged us to ask ourselves, "Are we more concerned with God's PRESENTS (our jobs, our success, our accomplishments, our relationships, our cars, our electronics, our homes or our money) than we are with God's PRESENCE (His love for us through Scripture, through Prayer, through Devotion)?" Wow.
While some of the "presents" aren't necessarily bad things, they can take the place of spending time intimately with Him, building and growing a relationship with Him, growing dependent on Him and enjoying the joy, peace and love He has to offer us. God does certainly BLESS His people with "presents" or gifts/talents/abilities...it's what we DO with those presents that matter. Do we worship these things more than we worship the God who provided them to us, the God who created us?
So, the question we should ask ourselves is this, do we VALUE life with God over His blessings? I personally loved this phrase from the sermon:
"God is more interested in my character than my calendar"
Amen.
Do we focus on the DESTINATION or are we more concerned with who we are BECOMING on the journey?
In the end, it's simple...
God DESIRES our HEARTS...our PRESENCE!
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