08/27/2023
In Nashville we had a total eclipse of the sun in 2017, and although it took a while to reach its totality, or the period of time in which the moon totally covers the sun, the totality itself lasted for only two minutes or less. Quite often the period of time God shines His light of opportunity in our lives is short as well. If we miss the chance to see or to act upon the calling which God presents us, we may never experience that particular opportunity again.
“So Jesus said to them, "The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.”
John 12:35 ESV
The moon eclipses the sun bringing darkness, and on the other hand God gives us light, but in this 180 degrees of imagery and separation they are similar in one respect... the limited duration in which we can experience them. So what I want us to think about today is how quickly life comes and goes and how little time we have to answer the call of God... both to salvation, and in serving Him by spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus warned His disciples that He was only going to be with them a short time longer and that they needed to take advantage of it. But he also asked them a question about how keen their observation of Him was and it went like this...
“but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”
Matthew 6:23 ESV
Hmmmm.... this implies that much like the gradual movement of the moon across the sun produces varying degrees of darkness before totality, our view and experience of Jesus can yield degrees of light as well. Our faith is not simply an on and off light switch. By virtue of how we accept and serve the Lord, we experience varying degrees of the light that is Him.
I have found this to be true in my life. There are times when I immediately and completely answered a call from God, and then there are those times when I have procrastinated until the opportunity was gone and I have failed. Time is our limiter and it moves in one direction carrying our consciousness with it.
One afternoon I saw a car on the side of the interstate, and a little further along I saw a man walking towards the distant exit for help. He had probably run out of gas. The Lord immediately told me to pull over and pick this man up, but as I struggled with my fear I passed him and in an instant the opportunity had passed me by... just as surely as I had passed by the man.
On another evening Ann and I were going to dinner and had parked in a parking garage down the street from the restaurant. As we left the garage and walked onto the sidewalk a ragged and bent woman asked me if I had any money I could spare. In a pleading and nearly crying voice she said "I am so hungry." We were just about to walk past her when the Lord spoke to me... and I immediately turned around and handed her enough money for a dinner. As we walked on, I thought to myself that she was probably going to buy alcohol with that money, and indeed she might have, but the call of God was my guide, and when we returned to our car she was gone.
In both instances the call came, and in one of them I put off answering it until the moment of truth had passed me by, but in the other I answered immediately. The light switch in each of these instances was either on or off, but when our lives are looked at as a whole, the light appears to be tinged with a shade of darkness... it has a certain brightness to it that will never be fully complete without the promise and presence of Jesus in it.
As I continue to contemplate this topic, I am reminded of a wonderful quote. Sometimes we hear quotes that are so profound that over time we feel as though they are scripture. One such quote comes from Omar Khayyam and the beautiful translation of it into English by Edward Fitzgerald. This piece of the poem is incredibly insightful and profound as it deals with our topic this morning....
"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it." - Omar Khayyam
Our time in the light with Jesus is brief and so is the time we have to know Him before judgement. As we come upon Him we must make a decision... do I believe or not, and then once we have chosen to believe we are faced daily with experiences in which we must continue to choose... do I pass by, or do I stop to do the bidding of Christ? Do I change my life in order to answer the calling of God, or do I continue to walk down the familiar street I have been traveling alone? Will I make decisions that will bring me eternal life, peace, joy, and redemption, or will my decisions write my life in such a way that all my tears can't possibly wash away my regret?
The time we have to accept Jesus is short, and the time we have to make individual decisions is shorter yet. There is no yesterday beyond our memory, and tomorrow may never come; where do we stand? How faithful are we in answering the call of the Lord when it comes each day? How bright is our light?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your light in my life, and your Son Jesus Christ who is the Light of the World. Thank you Father for the total brightness of Jesus that perfects me, and washes away the darkness from before me. Holy Father, open my eyes to see your path, and make my hearing keen as I listen for your call. Then, in the moment of decision I pray that there will be no delay or thought that keeps me from answering you. I praise you Father for each lesson I am taught by your timely whispers as I travel my life. I thank you for those I feed at your request, and thank you for the lessons you have taught me as I have passed by others. Lord Jesus help me to understand the path I should take and light the way. Holy Spirit, lead me in discernment and confidence. Most Merciful Father forgive me for those moments I have delayed in answering you, and teach me Father to be more obedient. Great are you Jesus, and greater yet the Father. I praise your names each day. I praise you as I serve you, and I praise you as I find you waiting, even when I have failed to answer in time. Your patience is complete and your forgiveness is without shadow Father. So, let the light of Jesus Christ, who redeems me and washes me in His brilliance, shine upon me always, and let me respond quickly to Him, and you, so that no doubt or indecision in my life will cast a shadow upon me.
Rich Forbes