Don’t Postpone Life

Summertime can sometimes feel like we take our foot off the accelerator of life. School is out, vacations are coming, some sporting events cease and the weather is warm. No doubt we need rest for our souls and bodies, a time to let our shadows catch up to us.

I also challenge you to find meaning in your summer days. It would be sad when summer is over and you would be disappointed by the things that you had hoped to do but didn’t. I find that you have to be intentional with your days. Are you going to do something this summer in your yard? Do you want to read some good books? Do you want to spend some quality time with the family? Do you want to entertain friends at an outdoor barbecue?

Jesus saw the deadening streak in our human nature, the ever present temptation to procrastinate, to postpone life. Jesus talks about the five wise and the five foolish virgins, half of them missed the wedding and the feast that followed. In another narrative, Jesus tells about a great super all prepared. Unfortunately, the invited guests were too busy to attend: one looking at a piece of ground, another looking at a yoke of oxen, another taking care of a new bride. They missed the feast.

As I see lives end, as T. S. Eliot put it, “with a whimper, instead of with a bang,” it isn’t because these lives have been willfully, purposefully evil. Most of them have just been dribbled away. They are the stories of opportunities neglected, challenges unmet, inspiration stifled, potential allowed to deteriorate, and talents undeveloped–all due to procrastination. There is a story of the old recluse who had a bad leak in his roof. When he was asked why he didn’t repair the leak, he always said, “Well, when the sun is shining, I don’t need it repaired and when it is raining, it’s too wet to work on it.” That is the story of so many lives, the moments that come and go.

Cherish today. Today matters. Harvey S. Firestone, Jr. puts it this way, “Today is the first day of the rest of my life.” Think about the profundity of that statement. Start now with the most important: to establish a deeper relationship with God, a loving relationship with family and friends, and a meaningful purpose at your work and your play. “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!”

Go with God,

Pastor Qualley