Are You Living in the Now?

Are You Living in the Now?

by | Nov 15, 2024 | Positive Living

We are all time travelers to some extent. Most of us spend at least part of our lives reliving the past or thinking about the future.  This is not necessarily wrong – we were given memories to remember the lessons of the past, and imaginations to see and plan for the future as well as we can. But we were never intended to live in another dimension of time.

Sadly, some Christians who have undergone traumatic experiences, or who have made mistakes they find hard to forget, spend a lot of time and emotional energy dwelling on the past – re-living or analyzing events and mistakes and often suffering through the events repeatedly.  This is definitely something that we need to overcome. We should always try to learn what we can from the past mistakes that we or others have made, but as Christians we are instructed to let these things be covered by the forgiveness we have in  Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:14–18). Isaiah specifically tells us “I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25 ESV – and the clear implication is that what God chooses to forget, we should also. 

Anything less is not to trust in the fullness of Christ’s sacrifice – it is to proudly believe that the sins and problems of our past are too great to be covered.  We may not consciously think this, but if we do spend a lot of time re-living past events we should carefully assess our thoughts and ask God for help we may need to come back from the past: to forget the details, remember the lessons, and let God move us forward. As the apostle Paul (who was as conscious as any of us of mistakes in his past) wrote: “one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” (Philippians 3:13). 

It is much healthier – both emotionally and spiritually – to look forward rather than backward. But Christians may also fall into a ditch on that side of the road of life.  If we find ourselves frequently being concerned about the future, we must focus on the fact that trusting God regarding our future is a basic aspect of our faith (Matthew 6: 31–33). As Jesus said: “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself” (Matthew 6:34). 

But there is a final and equally debilitating aspect of living in the future. Many Christians begin to look to the future as an answer to the problems of the present.  This is not wrong if it is part of our trust that God will work things out, but if we begin to focus unduly on  the coming kingdom of God or “when I get to heaven” or prophecies regarding the end of the world and what might happen next, we can begin to live in the future and lose our focus on living God’s will and doing God’s work today.  Sadly, many who do this inadvertently diminish God’s calling in their lives.  We can and should pray daily for God’s kingdom to come, but that involves the institution of God’s will now just as much as in the future. The responsibilities God gives us in this regard are all in the here and now. God calls us not to live in the future to escape the now, but to live in a now that is inspired by the future. 

God himself is clearly a God of the present.  When Moses asked God what his name was, God told him: “I am that I am” (Exodus 3:14)  – God does not focus on what he has been or will be, his identity is tied to  now, to eternally filling  the present. Certainly God is the alpha and omega (Revelation 1:8; 21:6) – the beginning and the end – but that means he was and will be the same in an eternal present.  And that is what God calls us to be, also. Trite as it may sound, there is a lot of wisdom in the old saying “Today is God’s gift, and that’s why we call it the present.” 

When we focus on living in the present-moment, whatever we do – even the simplest action – can be  fulfilling God’s long-term purpose for us. The psalmist wrote “I will sing praises to your name forever as I fulfill my vows each day” (Psalm 61:8), and this is God’s intent for us – for us to keep the big picture of eternity in mind, but to live in the present of each day we are given.  

We should always remember that God calls us to let the past be our teacher, to let the future be our hope, but to let the present be our life.

Humility and Service

Humility and Service

by | Nov 1, 2024 | Service

When we see the words humility and service together, it is easy to think immediately of the humility of Jesus in serving humanity (Mark 10:45) and of the humility his followers are called to show in serving others (Galatians 5:13).  But there is another side to the relationship between humility and service in that it often takes humility to be served.

When the New Testament tells us that “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45), it does not mean that Jesus was never served. We know he attended meals in the homes of others where he was served by the hosts (Luke 10:40–42; etc.), we have the story of the woman who washed his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair in an extreme act of service (Luke 7:36-50), and Mark’s Gospel specifically tells us that a number of individuals “followed Jesus and cared for his needs” (Mark 15:41). In the same way, the apostle Paul – who served countless people throughout his ministry – referred to the deaconess Phoebe as someone who “has been helpful to many, and especially to me” (Romans 16:1-2 NLT).

But it is easy to forget – or never to really learn – that just as it takes humility to serve others, it can also take humility to be served. For a number of reasons, the human mind often resists being served and helped. A clear biblical example of this is found in the story we all know of Peter’s interaction with Jesus at the Last Supper:  

Jesus … poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” (John 13:3–9).

Here, we see that Peter initially declined being served by his Teacher, and in so doing almost rejected one of the greatest lessons his Teacher could ever give him, as well as the simple act of service that Jesus offered him. Like Peter, although our initial reaction to being served might be negative, we need to humbly and gladly realize that we should accept service being offered for our good. And we need to be willing to do this in many areas of life. Consider just a few examples:

We need humility to be served in sickness, injury, and in other situations where we cannot help ourselves. The apostle  James tells us the sick should call for the help of elders who would anoint and pray for them (James 5:14–15).

We need humility to be served when people offer us personal advice, suggestions, or guidance. The example of Moses accepting the advice of his father-in-law regarding a matter in which Moses had far more experience (Exodus 18:13–24) is a clear one that we should understand in the context of Moses’ great humility (Numbers 12:3).

We need humility to allow ourselves to be served by God who came to serve and who works to save us. We should never be like the people of Jesus’ hometown of  Nazareth who did not accept him in their pride (Luke 5:22) and, as a result, were not helped as they could have been (Mark 6:5).

The truth is, in our relationships with other people, there is a balance between serving and being served, supporting the needs of others and being supported in our own needs (Luke 4:38–39). We should always remember that we are called not only to serve others, but sometimes to be served also.