As you know by now, Billy Graham passed recently. Though Billy lived a long life of ninety-nine years, his passing reminded me once again of life’s brevity. Billy never claimed to place much hope in this life, in its circumstances or successes. Rather, he lived his days in light of eternity.
In speaking of eternity, Billy said, “someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.” He also said, “when we all reach the end of our earthly journey, we will have just begun.”
Living in light of eternity doesn’t make our life on earth less important, it makes it more so. If we are truly living in light of eternity, if life never ends and our earthly life is preamble to our ultimate existence, then how we live our days and moments matters immensely. We only have today, this one day. This is how life comes, one day at a time. Yesterday is past and tomorrow isn’t promised. These are the moments that matter. With these seconds, minutes and hours, we have the power to choose, who we will serve, and what we will do with the life we have been given. As Mary Oliver so beautifully penned,
“Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”
It is easy to get bogged down in the details of the day and to lose sight of the bigger picture. Living in light of eternity means we keep looking to the light, even when it’s dim and appears far away. For it is the light that illuminates our path and provides clarity. We don’t see the entire picture, but we see enough for today.
“Enough for the day, the demands of the moment
The thing on my mind is the work in my hand.
Wood for the woodstove and water for coffee,
Somethin’ I can still understand.”
-James Taylor, Montana
Each day has enough; there is enough work and rest, there is enough joy and sorrow, there is enough pleasure and pain. Each day is sufficient and in each day God’s grace is sufficient for us. God is gracious in dividing our lives into days and nights. Each night He replenishes our strength and gives us a fresh start with the new day. Each day we can put the failures of yesterday behind us and begin again in hope.
Many are tempted to carry the failures of yesterday while at the same time trying to solve the problems of tomorrow. These are burdens not ours to carry. Jesus reminded us of this when He said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34 NIV).
When God delivered Israel from Egyptian captivity leading them through the desert toward a land of their own, He wanted them to trust Him daily. He wants us to do the same. He provided daily food, manna that fell from Heaven each morning, and as it lay on the ground, He encouraged them “to go out each day and gather enough for that day.” (Exodus 16;4 NIV). If the Israelites were lazy and gathered too little, they would go hungry. If they were greedy and gathered too much, it would spoil and make them sick.
Life is precious and our time on earth passes swiftly. Viewing our days in light of eternity frees us to live our lives and abandon our futures to God. If we can learn to embrace our days and moments as gifts, humbly approaching them and doing the best we can with what is in our hand and what lies before us, only then will we fully enter into the freedom and beauty of a life lived with God.
What are you doing today? Whatever it is, do it with with gratefulness and thankfulness, and do it with all your heart as unto God. (Ecclesiastes 9:10 and Colossians 3:23).
“This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 ESV).