EVIL ENOUGH
Mathew 6:34 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.
A recent talk radio show posed the question, “What day is the most important day of our lives?” Some responded that the day they were saved was the most important day, but the host seemed to believe it will be the day we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Does introducing eternity into the equation, since we have eternal souls, require a different take on the question and dictate a more meditative response?
The Bible would disagree with both of the previous assertions. It marks and describes unequivocally which day is the most important day of our lives. Today, not yesterday or tomorrow, is the most important day of our life! “To day if ye will hear His voice”; “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”; “exhort one another daily, while it is called To day”, and many more. It’s amazing how the Bible can take our pre-conceptions and dash them against the stone of Truth to reveal the Wisdom of God. God has taken “today” and encompassed the whole of eternity within it. He is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever. If we are unchanging every day, or in every today of our lives, then we will assure constancy and be the same yesterday, and today, and tomorrow.
We can think on eternity without understanding, but we know of the moment. Will there ever be enough moments to add up to an eternity? We may never know, because that thought places a distinct barrier to eternity and eternity is without limit. Jesus says he is unchanging. He is the same today. Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, and never changes. Where begins and where ends? Does it matter as long as we know there is today with Jesus Christ in it, unchanging?!
Certainly, the day of our salvation is an important day. It is the day of celebration for each individual that receives, in person, the atonement of Jesus Christ. Our salvation is a personal relationship between us and God. There is none who can sever the tie that binds us to Christ or anyone else but Christ who can bind the tie. It is through His blood we receive imputed righteousness. It is Christ’s victory over death and the grave which causes us celebration. Through His victory we receive the spoil of death defeated. In this nation’s battle of Independence our forefather’s won the victory over tyranny. Today we receive the spoil of that same victory without having to fight the battle anew. Many people fight an unnecessary battle against sin and death when all they need is to trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ! Once we, by faith, trust Christ we can mark that day as a day of celebration for all of eternity. Saved today is saved for eternity. If all of today encompasses eternity by God’s definition, then we are saved today and for eternity.
When we also consider the thought of judgment we usually cringe. To be judged for one’s actions causes any individual pause. People, by a sinful nature, usually assume the worst when they are in the limelight of another’s judgment. I’m not sure the prospect of judgment by Christ is as perilous as we think, because we think with a carnal mind. Christ is aware of our carnality and the impact of the flesh. We are viewed with a certain understanding of our disability. Though, as Christians, we have been heeled of sin’s ravaging effects, we have been left with sin’s damage. God has renewed and heeled the spirit and soul, but we are still entombed within a carnal body. There will be a resurrection day for all of us, and like Christ we will awake in a renewed body. It is imperative we understand as Christians that the flesh is, indeed, buried. The Judgment Seat of Christ is the revealing of how well we have kept guard over the tomb of our flesh through the events of our daily life. Our actions, deeds, thoughts, and attitude can be judged by how much they have been influenced by the flesh. The Judgment Seat of Christ is not a judgment of our sin, since our sin is forgiven, but it is judgment of our lives in spite of our flesh. Some may say that implies that God grades on a curve. Christ, more than any other, knows the temptations we face and the infirmity of the flesh. Was Adam made sinless and without sin? Yes, but Adam sinned. Was Christ born sinless and remain sinless? Yes, so, what separated Jesus from Adam? Jesus, of course, is God in the flesh. But Jesus, living among us, suffered the incessant temptations of the wicked. Adam gave up his relationship with God for one woman. Imagine the encumbrance of a whole world of men and women. Often we forget and disregard the humanity of Jesus and the unique life He lived. How do you suppose Jesus obeyed the perfect will of the Father in those thirty-three years? Jesus endured every day, one day at a time. We are admonished to live today, every day, and daily for Christ.
Isn’t there enough in a single day to combat and overcome? Why borrow trouble by worrying over tomorrow. We shouldn’t put off for tomorrow that which can be done today. And, we have no guarantee of tomorrow for no man knows the time of his death or the beginning of diminishing ability. Is living today too tough? If that’s the case, how can we live for the morrow, as well? Neither a borrower nor a lender be! Would you suppose Shakespeare had read the Bible? In effect, this phrase coined by Shakespeare, is a paraphrase of biblical reference. It applies not only to money, the love of money, or credit, but to the effect and affect of the flesh in a Christian’s life.
Being prepared for contingency isn’t living for tomorrow. Usually we encounter a problem today which compels us to prevent the same instance from happening again. As a result we plan for certain circumstances. Paul admonished Christians to run the race toward a goal. Every day is another day to race. Every day is another day to plan for Heaven’s rest. People work hard every day for a paycheck. Yet, most paychecks come at the end of a week or two. How do you make it through a day of work knowing the wage or reward is yet to come? That’s the race we run in the world to live our lives. What kind of race are we running with Christ? Through Christ we have a guarantee of a greater tomorrow and a blessing of a better today.
Is the evil of today less than tomorrow’s? Who can know? Or, is it more? Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Take each day, one day at a time. Deal with the problems, trials, and demands of each day on that day. How does a smoker quit smoking? He doesn’t smoke today. How does an alcoholic quit drinking? He turns down the drink today. How does a gambler quit gambling? He gambles not today.
How does a Christian live within the will of God?
Live in Christ today!
