In The Moment…

“Just live in the moment.”  Have you ever heard anybody say that?  Do you think that’s really possible?  Now, I listen to The Dog Whisperer (because my dog needs him), and he says that dogs “live in the moment.”  I believe that because dogs have no self-awareness.  They know who feeds them, that it’s time to take a nap, and that something needs to be barked at.  That’s about it.  But dogs don’t plan what to make for dinner, what to wear to church tomorrow, or where they want to go on Saturday night.  But people do…I don’t think we can help it!  Can you think of anybody, no matter what he (or she) says, that truly lives “in the moment”?

The problem is, we, as humans, have to make plans!  In fact, what happens to people who don’t make plans?  They have a really hard time, don’t they?   It’s kind of a depressing way to live when you think about it.  If you live “in the moment”, you’re kind of denying that the future exists.  As Christians, we absolutely can’t live like that because the future is what gets us through the moments.  The future is our hope; it’s what we live for – our future with Jesus.

The thing is, if somebody can convince himself that all that’s important is right here and now, then he can ignore any consequences for what he chooses to do at any particular moment.  Things that happen become luck or coincidence rather than the leading or chastening of God.  I do know several people who think like that.  But if we have no choice about what happens in our lives, then we are helpless victims living in a hopeless world.  If we are at the mercy of circumstance, then what’s the point?  We might as well be animals because they don’t have any control over their lives either.

That’s the natural progression of a society that has taken the God of Creation out of life.  I don’t believe that Solomon went so far as to deny that God exists…he just lost sight of Him for a while.  The effect was the same though.  Solomon came to the conclusion that there wasn’t much point in anything because we are all going to wind up dead, so why bother.

Well, for one thing, God told us in Genesis that we aren’t like the animals, that we are like Him and better than the animals. 

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.  And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.  And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.”  Genesis 1:26-30 KJV

How wonderful!  We don’t need to look for meaning in each moment, because God, by creating us in His image, worked meaning into our DNA.  We don’t have to search for meaning, find excitement or build a legacy because God has given it to us.  Our legacy has almost nothing to do with right now and everything to do with eternity.  Look at these quotes from Ellen White:

Next to the angelic beings, the human family, formed in the image of God, are the noblest of His created works.--RH Dec. 3, 1908. {TA 48.2} The Lord . . . had endowed Adam with powers of mind superior to any living creature that He had made. His mental powers were but little lower than those of the angels.--RH Feb. 24, 1874. {TA 48.3} God created man for His own glory, that after test and trial the human family might become one with the heavenly family. It was God's purpose to repopulate heaven with the human family.--1BC 1082. {TA 48.7} The vacancies made in heaven by the fall of Satan and his angels will be filled by the redeemed of the Lord.--RH May 29, 1900. {TA 49.1}

So, let’s not live “in the moment”, let’s live for eternity!!!

Joseph’s Revenge

 “Joseph said to [his brothers], ‘Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?  But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.’”  Genesis 50:19-20

Joseph made a choice when he was sold by his brothers to have faith that God would be there with him through whatever was going to happen to him next.  That was the first choice, but it wasn’t the only choice.  Joseph had to make that choice, along with other choices, everyday for the rest of his life…just like we do.

All those choices had a major payoff for Joseph didn’t they?  Can you imagine what went through Joseph’s mind and heart when he saw his brothers walking up to him after all those years.  What would you have felt?  Most people’s first thought would have involve some kind of revenge I think.  Joseph had a free move to get even before his brothers knew who he was…but he didn’t take it.  He still loved his brothers, even after the way his brothers treated him.  Jesus still loves us, even after the way we’ve treated Him.  WOW!

Have you ever met someone who attributes everything to luck?  Especially when it happens to someone else.  You’ll often hear them say things like, “Wow, you’re so lucky.”  Somebody who just met Joseph after the Pharoah put him in power might have thought that Joseph was lucky.  We know better though.  Both in Joseph’s life and in our own lives, there is no such thing as luck. 

Nothing in our lives can be attributed to luck or fate.  Every breath we take is counted by God.  Psalm 139:13-16 says:

“For you formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.  I will praise You; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.  My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.  Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.  And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” 

Imagine that!  God knows each of us on the molecular level.  And He is interested and involved in every part of each of our lives.  And as Joseph’s life proved, 

“Those who follow Christ are ever safe under His watchcare.  Angels that excel in strength are sent from heaven to protect them.  The wicked one cannot break through the guard which God has stationed about His people.” The Truth About Angels, p13. 

“Under His watchcare” is a pretty good place to be, don’t you think?  That means that no matter where we find ourselves in our day-to-day lives, we are in the palm of God’s hand.  So as I look around at my current situation and see what could be described as less than ideal circumstances, maybe I should analyze the situation in a different light.  Maybe I’m not having “bad luck”, as some people would say, or, as others would say, experiencing a “punishment” for my sins.  My daily life may not always look or feel the way I hoped I wanted it to, but Ellen White reminds me in The Desire of Ages, 

“God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him.” P224-225

I think that if there is an over all theme for Genesis, it is that God is in everything that happens. He is always working through us to show His character to the world.  We are his “co-workers” and as we work with Him, He makes us a promise.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you seach for Me with all your heart.”  Jeremiah 29:11-13