Minute Meditations

”TODAY” is the first day of the rest of your life.”

Each of us is interested in the future for that is where we will spend the rest of our lives.

All the world hopes for a bright and glorious future. Mankind is constantly looking ahead, working, planning, spending millions in research, all with an eye to the future. And yet the future for them has no more room for God than their present, which is taken up with the temporal things which pass away with the using.

The children of God actually have two futures. The most important one is the hope of eternal life in the Kingdom of God – a future that will know no end, and secondly, we have the remaining days of our lives during which time we have the opportunity to make our calling and election sure. It is the way we spend this immediate future that will determine our eternal future.

James advises us concerning the future not to say ”Today or tomorrow we,, will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away. For that ~ ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”

This is good sound advice. We should always remember that all our plans are subject to the will of God. We ought not to say we will do this or that without prefacing it with, ”God willing” or ”If the Lord wills.” Paul was careful to say to the Ephesian brethren, ”I will return again unto you, if God will.”

We certainly should not plan something that would be displeasing to God and then say we will do it if God wills. Let us first be sure that all our plans are in keeping with the will of God and then let us always qualify them as James instructs us.

In our association with the world in business and with our neighbors we are often asked if we are going to do this or that, and we should be careful not to give an unqualified ”yes” answer. Here is an excellent opportunity to let our light shine, to obey James’ command and let those around us know that our lives and our plans are always subject to the will of God. The simple statement that ”God willing we are going to such a city for the Gathering next week” may create the opening to discuss those things most surely believed among us to our friends and neighbors,

Let us as we think and talk about the future remember that it is in the Lord’s hand and all our plans should be made subject to His will. Let us also not be ashamed to show to those around us that God is in our everyday life by saying that we will do such and such if the Lord wills. By so doing we commit our future to God and we may convert the sinner from the error of his way and shall hide a multitude of sins.