There are those of us who are always about to live. We are waiting until things change, until there is more time, until we are less tired, until we get a promotion, until we settle down — until, until, until. It always seems as if there is some major event that must occur in our lives before we begin living. George Sheehan.
Some have called those who live this way “whenners.” Not winners, but whenners. When I grow up, when I graduate, when I get a job, when I get a car, when I get a car that runs, when I get married, when we have children, when the children are older, when the children are grown, when I retire.. .then I will be happy. And what do many old whenners say? “Remember the good old days — when.”
The only day we have to live is this one. The only time we have is now. Let us make our now, wow, and turn our hours into power and thus make our days pay. Let us wisely invest in today; it will pay magnificent dividends. Paul told the Corinthians, “Behold, now is the day of salvation.” Jesus counseled us, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
To fail to live now, is to fail to live. We need to savor the moments as they arrive. To stop and smell the flowers, and gaze at the sunset, or ponder the night sky and declare with David, “When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established; what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him?”
In spite of the fact that David wondered why God is mindful of us, we know that He is. The Psalmst declared, “0 LORD, thou hast searched me and known me! Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar. Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.”
Since God knows so much about us, let us be careful what we think and what we say and what we do. This is the day for us to think the right thoughts, say the right things and do what is right. Never mind the good intentions about tomorrow. There is a saying about the road to a certain spot being paved with good intentions. We need to stop being “whenners” and begin being “doers.”
Today is the day to read the Bible, today is the day to visit the sick, today is the day to call a friend and write a cheery note to a shut-in. Solomon said, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” And do it today. Paul tells us, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Make today count. It won’t be back. Live this day for the Lord. “This is the day which the Lord hath made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One