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The brevity of life is something that we should think about often. No matter how old or young we may currently be, our life will pass us by all too quickly and we will wonder where did the years go? The Bible says it a lot more eloquently than I ever could. We read in James 4:14 “...For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” When we keep in remembrance how fleeting life is, I believe we will see our life differently. We won't postpone for tomorrow what could be done today, we won't hold unforgiveness in our hearts towards others, we will put away all the bitterness and spitefulness that we may feel and we will be quick to love others just as God loves us. (Mark 11:25) (John 13:35)
I believe we simply need to be reminded of how short life is when compared to eternity so that we can get back on the right track and make our life beneficial to ourselves as well as to those around us. I encourage you to think about your life. How quickly has it passed you by? No matter how old you may be, I'm sure you can remember your youth and feel like it was experienced only yesterday. That's the thing about life: it feels like an eternity while we are going through it, but it has flown by when we think back over it. (Genesis 3:19) (Colossians 3:23)
Many times we just need to have a proper perspective about life so that we can do those things that should have been done before. Simple things like loving others unconditionally, forgiving others of their trespasses against us, seeing the best in people no matter their shortfalls and simply being that example of love, mercy, and grace. When we take on the role of being our brother's keeper and esteeming others higher than ourselves, we will have lived a good and full life no matter how many years we spent on this earth. (Luke 6:31-36) (John 15:13)
I hope this message inspires and challenges your heart to do your best each and every day that you have on this earth so that your life's purpose will be used up to the full.
NO STRINGS ATTACHED
How important is it to offer our love, especially to those closest to us, with no strings attached? Ernest Hemingway wrote a poignant short story called “The Capital of the World.” In it he tells about a Spanish father who wants to reconcile with his son who has run away to Madrid. In order to locate the boy he takes out this ad in the El Liberal newspaper: “Paco, meet me at the Hotel Montana at noon on Tuesday. All is forgiven. Love, Papa.”
Paco is a common name in Spain, and when the father goes to the square he finds 800 young men named Paco waiting for their fathers.
What drew them to the hotel? As Hemingway tells it, it was the words “All is forgiven.” I notice that the father did not say, “All WILL BE forgiven IF you do this or that.” Not, “All WILL BE forgiven WHEN you do such and such.” He simply says, “All is forgiven.” No strings attached.
And that's the hard part - un-attaching the strings. Wiktionary tells us that the origin of the expression “no strings attached” may go back to ancient times when documents were written on parchment that were rolled up and secured with a string. The Babylonian Talmud in Tractate Bava Metzi'a tells of a man who gives his wife a bill of divorce on such a parchment, but holds onto the string so that he can snatch it back, should he choose to do so. The divorce, therefore, is not considered valid since he will not give it freely. Similarly, love, forgiveness or friendship that is given with strings and conditions attached are a sham and not valid, since they can be snatched back at any time.
An unknown author beautifully portrays the possibilities of no-strings-attached love in this heartfelt story titled “The Rock.”
"As she grew older her teenage daughter became increasingly rebellious. It culminated late one night when the police arrested her daughter for drunk driving. Mom had to go to the police station to pick her up.
They didn't speak until the next afternoon.
Mom broke the tension by giving her a small gift wrapped box.
Her daughter nonchalantly opened it and found a little rock inside.
She rolled her eyes and said, 'Cute, Mom, what's this for?'
'Read the card,' Mom instructed.
Her daughter took the card out of the envelope and read it. Tears started to trickle down her cheeks. She got up and lovingly hugged her mom as the card fell to the floor.
On the card were these words: 'This rock is more than 200,000,000 years old. That is how long it will take before I give up on you.'"
This mother is not saying, "I will love you IF." Instead she says that she will love her daughter forever and nothing can change that. No strings attached.
When we learn to love like that, I think we'll understand the words of Emmett Fox, who said, “If you could only love enough, you could be the most powerful person in the world.”
By Steve Goodier
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
1 John 3:16-18 “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
James 1:22-25 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”
Philippians 2:5-7 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.”
Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus says, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.
Today’s Selected Poem: FAILURE
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/enpoem24.htm
Today’s Selected Testimony: THOUGH THE SAIL HAS BEEN TORN...
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony42.htm
In Christ’s Service,
Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry |
