There is a silly story about two men sitting on a river bank. The night was still except the sound of a chorus of crickets. One of the men said, “Crickets sure do sing.”
The other answered, “Yep, they sure do.” As he was saying this he heard the sounds of a church choir rehearsing nearby.
“Sure is beautiful music, isn’t it?” he said.
The first man, still thinking about the crickets replied, “And to think they do it by rubbing their legs together.”
Our choir doesn’t make beautiful music by rubbing their legs together. But we are grateful for them.
People who serve Christ together tend to have a great time doing it. I know the choir does.
Now, imagine with me for a moment. You could even close your eyes if you would, but then you couldn’t see.
But imagine this, imagine, let’s say tomorrow morning, you wake up, you open your eyes, you’re blind. You can’t see anything. It’s utter, total darkness.
You think you’re still dreaming. You realize you’re awake. The first inclination is, “Obviously this is temporary, something’s going on, but I’ll be fine. I’ll just lay here for a minute.”
You wait, you don’t know how long. It feels forever, but it’s a short while. You’re blind. You can’t see anything. It’s complete darkness. Eventually you start to get a bit panicked. You make your way out of bed, you’re stumbling around, you’re trying to figure out where things are and you’re completely disoriented. “What do I do?” That’s what you’re thinking.
This goes on for days, weeks, months, years. Your whole life changes. You lose all your money. You can’t go to work. You’re absolutely broke. You lose the place of residence that you were enjoying. And your whole life is forever changed, for the worse.
How often it is that we take our eyesight for granted. How often it is that we take life for granted.
Helen Keller, who dealt with deafness and blindness on a daily basis, once wrote a magazine article entitled: “Three Days to See.”
In that article she outlined what things she would like to see if she were granted just three days of sight. It was a powerful, thought provoking article.
On the first day she said she wanted to see friends.
Day two she would spend seeing nature.
The third day she would spend in her home city of New York watching the busy city and the work day of the present.
She concluded it with these words: “I who am blind can give one hint to those who see: Use your eyes as if tomorrow you were stricken blind.”
It reminds us that we only have this day and we are called to receive it as a gift to be relished, enjoyed, and lived.
Today is the day to say “I love you.” Today is the day to say, “Thank you.” Today is the day…. to not repeat the mistakes we may have made in the past.
Not one of us guaranteed another day. Realizing this truth helps us to live more fully. We are reminded that we must not delay in expressing love.
Today is a precious gift; it is a blessing from above. Appreciate all what you have today and all those around you.
Bob Hope was one of the great comedian of the last century. As he was getting along in years, he once commented that he’d been reading and was astonished to discover:
“Today my heart beat over 103,000 times,
my blood traveled 168 million miles,
I breathed 23,400 times,
I inhaled 438 cubic feet of air, ate 3 pounds of food, and drank 2.9 pounds of liquid,
I perspired 1.43 pints… gave off 85.3 degrees of heat… generated 450 tons of energy,
I spoke 4,800 words, I moved 750 major muscles,
and I exercised 7 million brain cells.
(pause…) It’s no wonder I’m tired all the time.”
I hope that’s not true for you but what a joy it is to anticipate each new day and accept it as a fresh gift from God!
Today is the day to walk with God. Today is the day of salvation. In Christ, and in Christ alone, by grace alone, we know God’s gift of life and the greatest gift of all is Eternal Life.
How can we live our lives today as a gift from God? How can we live on purpose for Him who created us? How can we live our lives, or use our eyes as if we were stricken blind tomorrow?
Thank the Lord and praise his name! TELL THE WORLD about his wonderful love!” Isaiah 12:4 (LB)
Dennis