A Note to the Students in All of Us

I remember vividly the feeling of being a student in May.  It was though the finish line was just around the corner but suddenly you were saddled with the weight of projects and finals and homework.  All you could see was the glorious goal of sleeping in and doing whatever you wanted for the glorious summer months.  Days upon days of cartoons and sleepovers and forts built and the sheer bliss of being free.  The only thing keeping you there was the requirements placed upon you and you resented school for it!  Your thoughts as of May 1 became of the summer plans and all else seemed to simply drag you back to a reality you wanted no part of. 

May I suggest that this is the experience of many Christians.  We have the joys of eternity before us and we get so caught up with our thoughts of how wonderful it will be that we view the tasks that we have here, however noble, as simply burdens that keep us from being where we really want to be.  This is a faulty view of eternity and a lousy view of what it means to be a Christian.  Like summer, we can appreciate the genuine joy that comes with eternity without neglecting our lives as students here on earth.  God gives us clear instructions that we are to live out our final days on earth in a particular way - namely to bring Him glory as we share His name with the world around us in word and deed. 

We need to change our perspective from a focus on what is coming to a focus on where we are now in the present.  What has God given you as a challenge for today?  In what way can you be more like Jesus today as He changes your behaviors and character.   Who can you serve today?  Who can you love today?  How can you impact those that do not yet know the Savior for the Kingdom of God?  Our assignments are not something that we do because we have nothing better to do, they are the commands of God given us for our joy.  We cannot look past them.  We cannot think of them as simply filler.  We must instead find the joy in the journey of following after Christ and walking in His Spirit.  Today.