He “is” the resurrection and the life. Present tense.
This is it! Being aware of the present moment and making the most of it takes intentional action.
In our Sunday School class today we focused on the resurrection … the impact Christ’s statement, “I am the resurrection and the life” has on today.
This is it! This is the day we have … this “is” our God-moment!
Paul expands on the prophet Isaiah’s words: Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
The writer of Hebrews says, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
This is it! This is the day the Lord has made, [I will] rejoice and be glad in it!
Robert Frost writes of the challenge … the despair of living in the present:
But bid life seize the present?
It lives less in the present
Than in the future always,
And less in both together
Than in the past. The present
Is too much for the senses,
Too crowding, too confusing-
Too present to imagine.
Living in the present is not easy … it can seem crowded, confusing … all the more reason is seek out God’s direction, his leading … listening, being … allowing the “doing” in our lives to flow out of our relationship with Him … daily … moment by moment …
This is it! It’s not about our seizing the day … but about yielding … living in the flow of the moment that God provides!
Henry Longfellow writes …
In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, -act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!
Be encouraged! This is it!
Thanks for this reminder that our actions and thoughts should flow out of our relationship with God today, not just in the future. It is so easy to get caught up in worrying about what is happening today…even knowing that worry does not add a single hour to anyone’s life. God has repeatedly shown Himself faithful and will again.