Listen! You who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this city and stay a year and make money.” You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? It is like fog. You see it and soon it is gone. What you should say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:14-15 – NLV).
This is the reason we do not give up. Our human body is wearing out. But our spirits are getting stronger every day. The little troubles we suffer now for a short time are making us ready for the great things God is going to give us forever. We do not look at the things that can be seen. We look at the things that cannot be seen. The things that can be seen will come to an end. But the things that cannot be seen will last forever (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – NLV)
Every single thing we do today should be measured in the light of eternity. The only things that leave this life with us are 1) our relationship with Jesus and 2) our relationships with others. That’s it. Nothing else. So, what if we change our focus from getting all we can to being all God wants us to be? What if our life focus changes from accumulating stuff to working on deepening our connection with God, and with the people in our lives.
For years now I’ve had a personal daily focus. I want to include in my today what I want for my tomorrow. Do I want to have a deeper experience with God in my tomorrow? Then give part of today to deepening that relationship, first of all by having some good read time in the Word, and then by spending time praying and talking about life’s details with the Lord.
Do I want to be closer to my wife Susan in my tomorrow? Then make sure we have some quality face to face time today. Susan and I often end our busy day face to face over a meal and talk about life. I so look forward to these times. In my tomorrow, I want her to be close to my heart.
On and on I could relate what I do today to what I want in my tomorrow. So I fill today with healthy eating, exercise, things that increase mental acuity like reading and meditating, emotional balance through forgiving and loving, and rest, which includes time for a personal hobbies and quality sleep . What I do today makes my tomorrow. Living life in the light of eternity takes the focus from the ever encroaching now to what I want life to bring in my future.
Plato, in his Apology, quoted Socrates: An unexamined life is not worth living. Take some time today and reexamine your life priorities in the light of eternity. Before you retire to bed tonight, reflect on what you spent your day doing. Will what you did today bring peace, fulfillment, and reward tomorrow and into eternity? Will you be fulfilled in your relationship with those close to you tomorrow based on what you gave time and attention to today? Will God be closer tomorrow because of the time you have given Him today? Will you be mentally alert and physically strong tomorrow based on today’s activities?
These are BIG thoughts worthy of our personal reflection. Take time today to prioritize. Cut off the unnecessary things. Minutes make hours that create days. Time is life meted out. Let’s put our best into today. It makes tomorrow exciting!