What tense am I living in? It struck me this morning as I was reading in Acts that every day is a choice for me. I can choose to live in the past, the present, or the future. Here's the verse that set my mind to thinking:
"Men of Galilee, why do you stand there looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven." Acts 1:11
I was reading this passage and it just struck me. I prayed for God to show me something I hadn't really seen before, and the words themselves began to imply a deeper meaning to me.
"..why do you stand there looking into heaven?..." Why? Because the followers of Christ were reminiscing about the days when He was there with them. They seem to be dwelling in the past and wishing for those days to still be here. I do the same thing. I either think about the good things from my past and wish they were still here, or I dwell on the bad things in my past and regret them. Neither of which is good for me to do, and I think that's why the angels asked that question.
"This Jesus...will come in the same way as you saw Him go..." The angels are reminding me that Christ is coming back. It's a promise! I don't have to sit and worry about whether or not Jesus is coming back. It's going to happen.
I think the message in this passage for me is this: I can learn a lot from my past, good or bad. I can eagerly anticipate everything in my imagination of what the future holds. But the implied message for me from these angels in Acts is to live for today! They're gently reminding me of the call of the Great Commission on my life, that I need to let the past go, let the future bring what it brings, and do everything I can to serve God today.
So, what tense are you living in?
No comments:
Post a Comment