There are two passages assigned for today!
SCRIPTURE: Ecclesiastes 12
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. [Ecclesiastes 12:6]
I have met young people who were putting off thinking about God and life while they were young; they first wanted to enjoy life before they got serious.
The Teacher suggests that this is not a good idea, that in fact it is a foolish and dangerous idea.
The decisions we make today lead to the lives and consequences we experience tomorrow.
In the name of “having fun”, people have ruined the rest of their lives.
Tomorrow always seems an easier time to deal with the serious issues of life, and yet tomorrow is always a day away, and we may not even see tomorrow.
The time is now; now is the time to act, now is the time to respond.
Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.” [John 12:35-36]
Jesus warns His followers to respond to His wisdom now, rather than risk waiting until tomorrow.
While there is still time, put your trust in the light.
For some reason people see taking God and Jesus seriously as stepping out of freedom and the joy of life; they see it as a drag, as a burden, as a drag on life.
What both the Teacher and Master are saying is the same thing: life is found in taking God seriously now!
It is the beginning of the story, and the end of the story; it is the whole story!
As I relate with youth, the sad reality is that many of them are still more enchanted by the pleasures and promises of this world, and not inclined to take God seriously right now.
Their hearts and minds are full of thoughts about jobs, friends, dating, appearances, making and spending money, having a good time, getting an education, or a car or a house or a cell phone.
Some of this stay may have a place, may be relatively important, but they are always of secondary importance.
Unless we first put God at the center, and choose to live a Godward, God-pleasing life, all of our other choices and experiences will be flawed and incomplete.
The most important decision a person can make TODAY is to surrender to God by surrendering to Jesus as Saviour and Lord.
From that decision all of life’s other decisions and experiences will unfold.
With Jesus, we will make decisions based on truth and morality; we will determine our priorities based on God’s priorities; we will value the things that God values and develop relationships that strengthen our life in God.
As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’ Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. [2 Corinthians 6:1-2]
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, today again I choose to live in You, with You, for You.