Seize The Day! Carpe Diem?
Wait a minute… Isn’t that somewhere in the Bible?
Not…
Oops…
Oh beloved, it is true. We do get some things backwards sometimes. Everything in our world tells us to reach out and grab for something. It tells us to leverage our own time, talents and resources to go do extraordinary things… especially for G_d.
Even much of the church in the modern world tells us we must “take up our cross and follow Jesus.” And this is absolutely true. It is found in the passage of Matthew chapter 10. Verse 38 says: “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.” However, what is often omitted is the next verse. It says: “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.”
In this passage, Jesus is not talking about us living our life FOR Him. He is talking about us abandoning our lives as we know them. Read the passage. He is talking to the disciples and sending them out to preach. He is talking about abandoning everything, like financial stability, peace, safety, freedom, reputation, relationships… everything to follow Him and spread the message of the Kingdom. But, in all of this, He tells us not to be afraid, that He is in charge, He has everything under control. Verses 19,20 say: “When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
Wait a minute… catch that. G_d does not want us to work FOR Him. He wants to work (even speak) THROUGH us. He doesn’t want us to seize anything. He wants us to let go of everything, so He can do His thing.
Does that twist us? Make us feel uncomfortable? It just might. We may have thought it noble to “pick up our cross” and go to work for G_d. He might just be proud of us! But when we realize that Christ is talking about TOTAL commitment, total abandonment to His ways, we may shrink away wondering “what’s in it for us?”
Well, it seems a bunch of folks have thought about this very question for many centuries. One of the best answers comes from the Westminster Shorter Catechism. The very first section of the document asks: “What is the chief end of man?” and answers: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
You see, life is all about God. It is His Universe, His Rules, His Game, and He gets all the credit. BUT, and this is a VERY BIG BUT: Because of who He is, because of His unfathomable Grace – His is a very good game. Those who have trusted in Him for it all get to enjoy all the things we’ve ever been looking for anyway (like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control for starters) – with Him – forever.
Oh beloved, jump in and wait… The water is way more than fine.
